


just like a movie

by lvrbot



Series: hyunchan is a mess [1]
Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: 2000s line all live together, Alternate Universe - College/University, Drinking, Getting Together, M/M, Mentions of Sex, Strangers to Lovers, but nothing explicit, chan's v understanding, hyunjins friends mean well
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-21
Updated: 2020-08-21
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:48:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 27,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26028247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lvrbot/pseuds/lvrbot
Summary: “I need you to not sleep with Chan.”“What?” Hyunjin sputters, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”“Of course you don’t,” Jisung huffs.orhyunjin humiliates himself in front of chan, and spends the next several weeks trying to get him to fall in love with him
Relationships: Bang Chan/Hwang Hyunjin
Series: hyunchan is a mess [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2099373
Comments: 24
Kudos: 168





	just like a movie

**Author's Note:**

> hello! here is the promised hyunchan :) i wanted to get this out today bc it's my bday, so here's my gift to you! also the title is the song by wallows! hope you enjoy it :))

Hyunjin hates Tuesdays. 

Once a week, all of his roommates get home at normal hours and get to have some rest or do homework or whatever, while Hyunjin is stuck running from his academic classes to his dance ones, then tutoring for english, and finally rushing to catch the train and be home in time for dinner.

Normally, being twenty one and living on your own would mean not having to worry about incurring the wrath of a mother who’s spent hours on dinner, but after Seungmin was told he had high blood pressure in his health class, Felix had taken over all meal times, cooking for the five residents of their home to keep them in tip top shape. It was such a big deal that missing a meal without a good reason was a sure way to ruin your night. The last person to not make it home for dinner, Jeongin, had to eat take out every day for a week when Felix switched from making five portions of each meal to four. 

This is why Hyunjin books it from his usual train station to the bus stop ten blocks away when his tutor releases him ten minutes late. However, even with all of his efforts, Hyunjin walks into his apartment and see’s everyone eating already.

“Goddammit,” he swears, rubbing his face, “Lix, I promise it’s not my fault. Mrs. Lee let me out late and I missed the red line so I hopped on the bus but I swear they were going slow, like, on purpose.” When there’s no response Hyunjin looks up only to be met by five blank stares. It’s confusing, and a little disorienting, to see an extra face in his usual spot at the table. He stares for a moment, trying to figure out who it is, and his heart stops when he notices how attractive the man is.

“Hey,” he says, smiling and blinding Hyunjin with his perfectly straight and white teeth, “I’m Chan.” Hyunjin stares blankly, having absolutely no idea what to say. Chan seems to take this as a sign of anger and rushes to explain, “I’m working on a project with Jisung, and Felix invited me to stay for dinner? Is that okay?” 

Hyunjin says nothing again, zoning out while trying to commit every centimeter of Chan’s face and torso to memory.

“Okay,” Seungmin sighs as he stands and pushes Hyunjin backwards, “he’s just tired so we’re gonna go wash up for dinner.” Hyunjin allows his roommate to force him into his own bedroom, barely reacting when the door slams behind them.

“Hyunjin, what the hell!” Seungmin exclaims, throwing his arms around for emphasis. Hyunjin stays silent so he snaps his fingers in front of his face a few times, “Hello, Earth to dumbass, dumbass do you copy?”

Hyunjin shakes out of whatever trance he was in, “Oh my god, I hate myself.”

“How is it that whenever you see someone mildly attractive you go completely offline?”

“You think I want this life? I’m literally never leaving this room again,” he whines back, “How bad was it?”

Seungmin’s eye twitches, “It wasn’t that bad.”

“Your eye twitched,” Hyunjin cries, “it was awful.”

“Okay so it was awful, who cares? Just get through dinner and then never talk to him again.”

“I’m in love with him, I need to talk to him so he’ll fall in love with me.” Seungmin groans, used to Hyunjin’s dramatics. 

“You’re not in love, all you know is his first name. Now change your clothes and get ahold of yourself, I wasn’t done eating when I had to yank you out of the kitchen to stop you from doing anything more humiliating than usual.” Hyunjin whines as he takes off his work out clothes and changes into grey sweatpants and a white t-shirt (Jisung’s white t-shirt which is a size too small and sits precariously at his waist), ignoring his friend’s judgmental stares through the whole thing. He mopes as Seungmin fixes his hair and pushes him back out into the kitchen, and pouts when he’s forced to sit at the table, in between Felix and Jisung and directly across from Chan.

Felix starts piling broccoli, Hyunjin’s least favorite food, onto his plate, nudging him in the direction of their guest.

“Introduce yourself to Chan, don’t be impolite,” Jeongin teases. 

Hyunjin fixes his stare at the table, “Hey,” he murmurs, “I’m Hyunjin.” 

“Dude,” Jisung mutters under his breath, “pull yourself together.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Chan replies politely, “you guys have a pretty nice place for a bunch of college students.”

Hyunjin laughs nervously, “Yeah.”

The conversation stops there and Hyunjin wishes he was literally anyone else in the world. The whole not being able to act normal around attractive people thing had gotten better since he went to college, but had never completely gone away. It was humiliating. 

Chan seemed to be better at dealing with the awkward atmosphere, talking animatedly to Seungmin and Jeongin about their classes. 

“You were late,” Felix frowns.

Hyunjin slumps further in his seat, “Haven’t I suffered enough today?”

“You have,” Felix nods, “which is why you only have to eat all your veggies and I’ll forgive you.”

“I hate veggies.”

“I know, that’s why it’s your penance.” 

The taller boy sighs as loud as possible, shoving a slice of carrot into his mouth and gagging. Felix shakes his head and looks away, refusing to play into the dramatics. 

“So, Chan, what project are you working on?”

“It’s for our composing class,” Jisung answers, mouth full.

Felix frowns at him, “I didn’t ask you, I asked Chan. Don’t be rude.”

“Oh, it’s fine,” Chan says, “We’re just going to be working on an instrumental narrative. It’ll take a while but it’s been coming along nicely so far.”

Hyunjin’s head snaps up, “Are you going to be here often then?”

“Jesus Hyunjin, keep it in your pants,” Seungmin giggles, carefully avoiding a kick from under the table.

“Not that way,” Hyunjin squeaks, “I was just curious.”

“Don’t worry man, I get it,” Chan winks in a way that makes Hyunjin wonder if he actually does get it or if he’s just so used to people falling all over him he wasn’t phased by it anymore. Probably the latter. 

Day thoroughly ruined, Hyunjin focuses his undivided attention on his food, determined to stay silent and avoid any teasing from his roommates. Even as dinner ends and Chan helps pick up the dishes (in the most perfect boyfriend way), eventually saying he has to get home, Hyunjin doesn’t say a word except for a curt goodbye. 

“There is so much wrong with you,” Jeongin tells him, sitting down next to him on the couch.

Hyunjin groans, “I just can’t deal with that man in my home.”

“Why?” Jisung calls from where he’s doing the dishes, “He’s super chill.”

“Because,” Hyunjin sighs out sharply, “he’s the exact type of man I would let absolutely destroy my life. I can’t have that here, I’m not strong enough.” 

Jeongin shudders, “You’re so nasty.”

“I’m not even trying to be nasty! I’m being honest! He could literally do whatever he wanted to me and then toss me out and I’d probably thank him. I cannot let that happen.” 

Felix looks over, “I don’t think you’ll have to worry about that. You were, like, borderline mean to him today, no way he’ll ever even talk to you again.”

Hyunjin gasps, “No I wasn’t!”

“You were,” Seungmin confirms, “your energy was totally off too.”

“This has literally been the worst day of my life, I’m deadass not joking,” Hyunjin gripes, pulling a throw pillow over his face, trying to suffocate himself.

Jisung walks over and pulls it off, “Okay drama queen, he’s gonna be here every Tuesday and Thursday for the foreseeable future, just say you were having a bad day and be nicer. You’ll be fine.” 

Hyunjin curls into his side so he can mope more comfortably, “Okay, I will,” he pouts, “On Thursday I’ll just tell him I’m a mess and then we can move on.” 

“That’s the spirit baby,” Jisung pats him on the back, “you’re very brave.” 

\---

On Thursday Hyunjin texts Felix that his friend Daehwi invited him out for dinner, then books a practice room and camps out there until almost midnight. He does it all on autopilot after seeing Chan walking into the science building. After never seeing the man in his life, nearly running into him on campus throws him off balance enough that he knows he can’t see him in his house as well. Hyunjin refuses to be ashamed, assuring himself that running away was the best option for him as he hops on the last train of the night.

The sentiment doesn’t last for long. When Hyunjin gets home he finds a piece of paper taped to the front door, containing a text thread showing someone’s conversation with Daehwi confirming that he had no idea where Hyunjin was that night. It’s enough to make him want to turn around and run off, but, almost like someone’s reading his mind, the door opens and a hand juts out to grab the front of his shirt and drag him inside. 

Hyunjin’s thrust into pitch blackness, pushed forward until he reaches the living room to see all of his roommates, except Seungmin who’s shoving him around, sitting on the couch with their hands on their laps and a fake fire on the tv screen. 

“Where were you today Hyunjin?” Felix asks, eyes wide and unblinking.

“I was out with some people,” he answers, “We had dinner.”

Jeongin giggles, “Didn’t you see the sign on the door? We know you weren’t with Daewhi.”

“It was my other friends.”

“What other friends,” Jisung snorts, “you don’t have any other friends.”

Hyunjin refuses to dignify that with a response and turns to go to his room, only to be stopped by Seungmin grabbing him and forcing him back into his spot. 

“You know I’m taller than you right? I could literally just stomp on you.”

“What, with all your muscles? Have you just been hiding them for the past five years?” 

“Why are you all being so mean to me? I texted that I would be out today!”

Jisung purses his lips, “You hid out in a practice room all day to avoid Chan so you wouldn’t have to say sorry for what happened on Tuesday.” Hyunjin opens his mouth but Jisung cuts him off before he can defend himself, “Don’t even try to lie, you share your location with me idiot.” 

Hyunjin scowls down at the ground, “I’m already embarrassed enough, you don’t have to make it worse.”

“Just tell us why dude, there has to be a reason,” Seungmin tells him, rubbing his back.

He sighs, “I saw him walk into the science building and it just reminded me of how attractive he was. I didn’t want to make a fool of myself again.”

Jeongin coos, “Oh Hyunnie, you’re so cute sometimes.”

Felix makes a face, “Cute? It’s ridiculous. Jin, you’ve really got to get that shit under control.” 

“I’m obviously trying to, it’s just hard when a literal walking sex god is sitting around in your apartment and popping up all over campus! I don’t even have a second to compose myself!” 

“Well,” Jisung says placatingly, “You probably won’t see him until next Tuesday, so use these next four days to prepare yourself and figure out your apology, because if Wednesday comes and you still haven’t said anything to him I’m going to tell him you have a big fat fear boner for him and that’s why you don’t know how to act.”

Hyunjin gasps, “You would never.”

“Oh but I would,” Jisung promises, “you know I would.” 

Hyunjin pulls out all of his tricks to persuade his roommates into letting up, puppy eyes, pouting, forcing himself to cry and whimper, but none of them are moved. After ten minutes of performing every sad face and emotion possible with no response he gives in.

“Fine, on Tuesday I’ll say sorry for real. No more immobility in the face of pure attraction.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Seungmin huffs, “But it’ll probably be funnier if Jisung just told him.”

Hyunjin shoves his head and storms off to his room, slamming the door for effect and dropping into bed. Thursday’s suddenly sucked just as much as Tuesday’s always had.

\--- 

As Hyunjin grabs his lunchbox and takes off Friday morning he’s late, unable to think of his impending doom until he walks into his Psychology class and sees Jisung’s newest bestie sitting across the room. It’s not the most surprising thing to not realize someone was in a room with you when you’re surrounded by three hundred people, but it is a little bit jarring to see someone you were promised at least four days away from the day after you were told not to worry about running into them. 

He ducks out of the classroom and heads off towards the library, willing to take the absence so he won’t have to deal with anything before he’s ready. Unfortunately, Hyunjin forgets that Seungmin studies in the library Friday mornings, and he walks right past him, caught in the act once again. 

“Hyunjin,” Seungmin whispers, “what are you doing in here?” 

Hyunjin slumps down at the table, “Guess who I just found out is in my psych lecture?”

“Who?”

“Chan. I literally rushed all the way to get there on time and he was sitting in the seat like right in front of the door so I left. Didn’t Jisung say I wouldn’t see him until Tuesday? It’s freaking Friday right now.”

“It’s not like he knows Chan’s whole schedule, he couldn’t predict he was in your class.” 

“Well he should’ve.” 

Seungmin sighs and moves his work to the side, “Jinnie, what’s really going on? You’ve always been a mess but now it’s just getting sad. Why do you keep running?” 

Hyunjin sniffles and throws himself forward to hide his face in his arms, “I’m embarrassed,” he whimpers. 

“You embarrass yourself daily, tell me the truth.” 

“No,” he whines, “like I’m actually really embarrassed, everytime I see him I wanna throw up. I haven’t done that shit to someone who was right fucking in front of me since highschool, it’s way worse than just staring at someone across the room and blanking out.” 

Seungmin actually feels bad, finding out that Hyunjin was actually struggling and not just being grossly over dramatic like usual. He feels so bad that he let’s Hyunjin hide out in the library with him and doesn’t tell anyone else, instead taking the time to make a game plan.

“Just walk up to him, say ‘hey I’m sorry I was weird the other night, I had a lot going on but I don’t hate you and I hope things aren’t awkward when you’re at the house’ and then you’re done.”

“No, it doesn’t work like that.”

“Hyunjin, it does work like that. I know you’re stressed but let’s think rationally for a moment. Chan is a nice guy, he’s very understanding and has been nothing but kind. There’s no reason to worry about how he’ll react because if he does anything wrong I’ll kick his ass.” 

Hyunjin giggles, the first time he’s done anything but sigh and pout since he joined Seungmin, “You saw his arms the other day right? Are you sure you’re willing to go against him in a physical fight?”

Seungmin scoffs and pretends to flick imaginary hair behind his shoulder, “I’d be able to take him, trust me. There’s no stopping me when someone messes with my Jinnie. Plus, you know the others would be right there with me, waiting for their turns.” 

The smile Hyunjin gives is weak, “Thank you Minnie. You guys always take such good care of me,” he says quietly. 

Seungmin shoves him gently away, “It’s our job dumbass.” They pack their stuff up wordlessly and split the fare for a taxi home, ditching their less important classes for some much needed recharge time. 

\---

Over the weekend Hyunjin reflects. Well, reflects as much as possible when his roommates refuse to leave him alone. Either Seungmin told them about what Hyunjin revealed in the library or they all took after his lead in treating Hyunjin gently, but every time anyone left him alone it was only seconds before someone else was joining him. 

At first it was nice, Hyunjin likes being around people, and he loves his roommates like they’re his family, but after so long it starts to feel less like they’re hanging out with him and more like he’s under watch. 

Ultimately he resorts to locking himself in his room like an angsty teenager throwing a temper tantrum. It’s not his proudest moment, but after Jeongin knocks on his door for five straight minutes to no response they must think he’s napping because the interruptions finally stop.

Hyunjin grabs his headphones and pulls up his saddest playlist, tossing his phone to the side once it’s playing and staring up at his ceiling. The thing is, embarrassing yourself in front of a stranger wasn’t supposed to be a big deal. Everyone does dumb shit, it’s natural. Even if it happens when your probable future husband was right there and watching you act like an idiot. Nothing major.

But it feels major, it feels like something Hyunjin will spend the next ten years lamenting about right before he falls asleep, and it feels impossible to get over it. Seungmin’s pep talk and resulting cuddles did a lot to make him feel better, but everytime Hyunjin thinks of walking up to Chan face to face and speaking he nearly throws up.

Stuck in a limbo, Hyunjin hides out in his room until Monday, only opening the door slightly to grab the plates Felix was leaving piled with food and praising his past self for using his status as the oldest to get the only room with an en suite. 

He goes through the motions of a typical college day in autopilot, holding polite conversation with classmates, stopping by a professor's office hours to get an extension, hiding in an empty art room during lunch so he could skip sitting with Jeongin and Jisung. It’s a normal day for the most part, and he heads home at the end of it feeling pretty good.

The apartment is eerily quiet when he gets home, enough so that he goes looking for any sign of life. Eventually he finds Jisung and Felix lying in their room. 

“Where is everyone?” Hyunjin asks, “It’s weird coming home to silence.”

Jisung raises an eyebrow, “I didn’t realize you were speaking to us again. Seungmin’s out getting groceries for dinner and Jeongin had to go to his Biology professor’s office hours to beg for extra credit. He probably won’t be home until right before dinner.”

Hyunjin nods, “Okay. I’m gonna go do some school work in the living room.” Felix nods back silently, not looking up from his phone. 

“If you guys are mad at me can you please just tell me instead of being passive aggressive, I’m still fragile.”

Felix sits up, placing his hands in his lap, “I’m not mad at you, I’m disappointed and frustrated that you’ve been ignoring us for like a month, but I won’t force you to talk to me about anything you don’t want to.”

“I haven’t been ignoring you,” Hyunjin argues, “I just needed some space.”

“Since when do you need space? You’re the clingiest out of all of us. You literally had Seungmin lay on top of you for like three hours on Friday.”

“Whatever,” Hyunjin huffs, “I refuse to apologize for doing nothing wrong.”

“Hyunjin,” Jisung cuts in, “we’re worried about you. You’re not acting like yourself, you skipped your classes on Friday then stayed in your room all weekend and locked the door so we couldn’t get in, and now you’re being very argumentative. It’s just not like you.” 

“Oh my god,” Hyunjin scoffs, “I know you two like to sit here and play house but I’m old enough to take care of myself. Get off my back and stop hovering all the damn time and maybe I’d want to tell you what’s wrong!” He turns around to storm off and smacks right into Seungmin who looks at him with wide eyes.

“What,” Hyunjin snaps, tying his hair up like he was about to punch his best friend in the face, “are you here to yell at me for having emotions too?”

“Uh, no,” Seungmin says slowly, “I’m just here to tell Felix I got everything.” 

Hyunjin rolls his eyes and walks away, having to sit in the living room to do work at the desktop. Of course, the other three head into the kitchen and all start cooking together like the perfect family, making Hyunjin feel worse and worse every time he hears one of them laugh. 

After fifteen minutes Hyunjin feels nothing but regret, he knows he shouldn’t have talked to his friends like that. After another twenty he’s fidgety with it, unable to sit still with the negative emotions swirling in his stomach. It’s when Felix asks if he’ll be joining them for dinner that night that he breaks.

“I’m sorry,” Hyunjin blurts out, “I shouldn’t have talked to you that way. I’ve been really stressed out but that doesn’t mean it’s okay to take it out on you.”

Felix walks over to sit with him, “It’s okay Jinnie, I know you’ve been upset lately. I just don’t know why you refuse to tell me about it.”

“It’s Chan,” he confesses, stealing a glance at Jisung, “I’m just really embarrassed about what happened and now I’m scared to say sorry.” 

“Do you want me to start going to his place instead?” Jisung asks.

“No, I need to say sorry I just don’t have the courage. I’m just upset.”

“Is there anything we can do? You’re shaking,” Seungmin points out.

“It’s the adrenaline from the anxiety, it’ll go away in a little bit.” Hyunjin promises.

“It must’ve been hard dealing with it alone,” Jisung tells him.

“It was.”

Felix nods solemnly, “Is there anything we can do to help?”

“Can you switch me out with a double who’s not such a coward?”

“I don’t think so,” Felix gives him a wounded look, “I’d miss my JinJin too much.”

Hyunjin sighs to cover up a giggle, “Don’t make me laugh, I’m sad.”

“Quick,” Seungman says, “make him laugh before he gets all emo again.” 

Felix moves fast, grabbing both of Hyunjin’s hands in his own, “Chiquitita, tell me what's wrong,” he sings, swinging their arms back and forth, “you're enchained by your own sorrow, in your eyes there is no hope for tomorrow.” 

“No,” Hyunjin says, shaking his head, “we’re not doing this.”

“How I hate to see you like this,” Jisung chimes in, “there is no way you can deny it, I can see that you’re oh so sad, so quiet.” 

Seungmin connects his phone to the speaker and plays Chiquitita by ABBA on full volume. “Chiquitita, tell me the truth, I’m a shoulder you can cry on, your best friend, I’m the one you must rely on.”

Hyunjin tries to get up and escape to his room but is stopped by Felix wrapping himself around his legs, “You were always sure of yourself, now I see you've broken a feather, I hope we can patch it up together.”

The trio looks at him expectantly. Relieved his poor actions didn’t have any long lasting effects and that his friends were actively trying to help him feel better, no matter how silly the tactic was, Hyunjin gives in, “Chiquitita, you and I know,” he shouts, his roommates cheer, “How the heartaches come and they go and the scars they're leaving, you'll be dancing once again and the pain will end, you will have no time for grieving.”

They go like that for the entire song, dancing around and singing as loud as possible. Half way through Hyunjin’s laughing so hard he’s crying, and then he’s just crying, sobbing basically, but he keeps twirling around with his best friends and singing along to ABBA, releasing all of the cloudy stuff from his body and just having fun.

Jisung’s a sympathetic crier, so eventually he’s joining the tear fest, and when Jisung cries, Felix cries. By the end all four of them are sobbing, hugging each other and skipping in circles, detoxing all of the bad energy from themselves and their home. 

It’s then that Jeongin gets home, “Guys,” he shouts, “we got another noise complaint from Mr. Jung, you know better than to blast music with that old bat around.” He walks into the room and stops in his tracks. “What’s going on in here?” 

“Hyunjin’s worried about seeing Chan tomorrow. We were singing ABBA to cheer him up,” Seungmin explains, “things just got emotional.” 

Jeongin tilts his head, “Do you feel any better?” he directs at Hyunjin. 

Hyunjin nods, “A little. I’m getting there.” 

“Then screw Mr. Jung,” Jeongin shrugs, “if he hates the noise so much he can just turn his hearing aids off. Turn it on again. What song is it this time?”

“Chiquitita,” Jisung tells him, “but not the Mamma Mia version.” Jeongin nods and takes his jacket off, singing the opening lines of the song once Seungmin starts it. 

They spend the rest of the night like that, alternating between ABBA and Dolly Parton but making sure to play Chiquitita after every few songs. Felix serves food while belting out the lines to Jolene and Seungmin nearly chokes because he’s dancing to Dancing Queen while trying to scarf down his dinner as fast as possible. After two hours of messing around the group collapse into a pile on the living room floor, huddling together and taking the throw blankets off the couch for warmth. It’s the best Hyunjin’s slept since Thursday.

\---

Hyunjin does end up seeing Chan on Tuesday, just not at his apartment like he was expecting. Honestly, at this point it doesn’t even take him by surprise anymore, once he sees Chan sitting in the cafeteria he simply turns around to go eat his lunch somewhere else. 

roomies (5)

jinnie: guys i’m gna go eat in the courtyard, come find me

lixie: sry jin, i’m finishing up an essay in the library so i won’t be there

sungie: i’m keeping him company :(

minnie: can’t make it, i have to run home before my next class

innie: i’m cleaning my bio profs car so i don’t flunk out 

jinnie: wait so none of you are coming to lunch???  
jinnie: we always have lunch together  
jinnie: it’s like our thing  
jinnie: also i can’t eat lunch alone???

sungie: lix says he’ll be done in an hour if you want to wait until then

jinnie: i can’t  
jinnie: my body needs time to digest my food so i don’t throw it up in ballet

minnie: wna come home with me?

jinnie: i need to eat like now  
jinnie: i can’t believe you guys didn’t tell me you wouldn’t be at lunch

lixie: maybe this can be an opportunity to make new friends !!

jinnie: new friends my ass  
jinnie: now i have to go eat in the cafeteria and hope someone takes pity on my loser ass

innie: why were you going to the courtyard anyway  
innie: it’s hotter than hell out here

jinnie: no reason

sungie: he saw chan in there

jinnie: how did you know that????

sungie: he texted me abt why you kept looking at him and leaving places

jinnie: oh my god  
jinnie: do i even want to know what you said

sungie: dw i said you have ibs so it wasn’t him it was just that time for you

jinnie: how is that better

lixie: why don’t you go eat w chan!

jinnie: bc i just left the cafeteria so i wouldn’t have to be around him

innie: jinnie rmbr chiquitita  
innie: sing a new song chiquitita~~~

jinnie: ugh fine  
jinnie: i’m going to the caf but i am Not speaking to chan

lixie: im proud anyway! love you!

jinnie: wtv  
jinnie: love you too

Hyunjin trudges back into the cafeteria, finding a table by a window and setting his stuff up. Even though he knows he won’t be doing any work it would make him look less lame to seem like he was sitting alone to get things done and not because his friends ditched him. 

It only takes a few minutes for someone to sit with him, and when Hyunjin looks up to see who it is he almost falls off his chair when Chan says hello. 

“Hey,” Hyunjin blinks, “what’s up?”

“I saw you were sitting alone so I thought I’d join you,” Chan smiles, “and Jisung asked me to keep you company so you wouldn’t get lonely.” 

Hyunjin closes his eyes tightly, “Fucking Jisung,” he sighs, “you don’t have to sit with me if you don’t want to.” 

“No I do want to, you seem interesting.” 

“In what way?” 

“I don’t know, I guess in the way that when I met you you said four words to me and then nothing else the whole night, and now I apparently trigger your IBS?”

“Oh my god,” Hyunjin covers his face with both hands, “I don’t have IBS, Jisung’s just an asshole. And I’ve been meaning to talk to you about the other night.” 

Chan sits back in his chair, “Oh? What do you have to say?”

Hyunjin takes a deep breath, “I’m sorry for being so weird last week, and for not apologizing sooner. I just have this weird thing where I like shut down in front of attractive people which is so embarrassing but I really hope it doesn’t make things awkward when you’re over because I know Jisung really likes working with you but he has a hard time focusing in new spaces and yeah,” Hyunjin cuts himself off when he realizes he’s rambling, “that's it.”

“You think I’m attractive?” 

“Is that seriously what you got from that?”

Chan laughs, “I’m just saying, it’s not everyday that someone tells you how hot you are.”

“That’s not what I said.”

“But isn’t that what you meant?” 

Hyunjin squints his eyes, “You’re really good at making people comfortable around you.” 

“Thank you,” Chan smirks, “it’s my secret super power.” 

“Well it’s working.” Hyunjin stares contemplatively, “You already knew I thought you were hot didn’t you?”

“Yeah,” Chan admits, “Jeongin came up to me and told me not to take anything you said or did to heart because you weren’t good at being normal around people you thought were cute.”

Hyunjin groans, “God damn it, I can’t fucking stand that kid sometimes.”

“If it makes you feel better I thought it was sweet.”

“Hm,” Hyunjin does his best to keep his face neutral and suppress his smile, “I’ll have to keep that in mind for next time.” 

Chan grins, “Oh I can’t wait for next time,” he winks, “I’m sure next time will be my favorite.”

Hyunjin hums happily and brings his gaze down to the table, “Thanks for coming to sit with me,” he says, “it would’ve been super embarrassing to sit here alone.”

“It’s no problem,” Chan replies, “I had a lot of fun. Much more fun than usual.”

“I’ve gotta get going, I have class on the other side of the quad, but it was really nice talking to you. We should do it again.” Chan agrees to give him his number in a way that convinces Hyunjin it’s not just an empty platitude, in the same kind voice he used to convince Hyunjin he really wanted to sit with him, and that staring at someone during dinner wasn’t actually that weird. He’s never been so in love.

\---

Hyunjin’s tutor cancels their lessons that evening, allowing him to get home early. It’s nice to walk in and see Chan without wanting to turn and bolt, and Hyunjin makes sure to take advantage of it by waving and then immediately ducking into his room to change into something that wasn’t nasty work out clothes. 

When Hyunjin walks out of his room Seungmin is standing in front of the refrigerator, riffling through their fruit drawer. Hyunjin creeps up behind him and grabs his waist quickly, barely dodging a punch. 

“God,” Seungmin gasps, “Hyunjin, you know you can’t sneak up on me like that! I went to public school in the states!”

Hyunjin rolls his eyes, “For four months when you were eight, stop acting like you were traumatized.” 

“You’ve never been there, you have no idea what I went through.” Seungmin looks him up and down, “What the hell are you wearing? Are you going to a wedding?” 

“What?”

“You’re wearing nice pants and a sweater with a collar pop out. You look like you’re going to meet someone’s grandparents.”

Hyunjin frowns, “This is how I dress.”

“No it’s not,” Jeongin says as he walks into the kitchen, “You look like you’re going for a job interview.” 

“Yes it is, this is my favorite sweater.”

“You wear that sweater to Sunday dinners. Wearing it now you just look like you’re going to a baptism.”

“Honestly you kind of look like you’re going to a garden tea party.”

“Stop saying I look like I’m going to dumb shit. I look like I’m home for dinner early because that’s what I am.” 

Jisung throws him papers down in the next room, “Can you three shut the hell up?” He shouts, “You’re distracting us.”

“Then go to your room,” Seungmin throws back.

“Felix is napping. Project takes precedence over bullying Hyunjin.”

“Since when?”

Jisung glares, “Since right now.”

“Whatever,” Jeongin sighs, “Come on, we can finish this in Hyunjin’s room.”

Hyunjin trails behind him, “I’m not going to let you hang out in my room just so you can talk shit about me.”

“If you care for my opinion,” Chan interrupts, “I think Hyunjin looks good, the whole look really complements his waist and legs.”

The trio halt in their tracks, and turn to stare at him. Hyunjin feels his whole body heat up and can predict the redness even before it starts creeping onto his cheeks. There’s a silent moment where it’s obvious no one knows what to do next. Jeongin is practically vibrating in his need to say something, but Hyunjin knows that because of his breakdown the night before, his friends are doing their best to stay silent.

“You think he looks good?” Seungmin squeaks. Hyunjin pinches his hip. 

Chan shrugs, “I mean yeah? It’s a cute outfit, it fits him well, the colors look nice. Is that wrong?”

Jeongin coughs to hide a giggle, “No, no, we value all opinions in this house. Thank you for your input.”

“Okay well, thank you Chan.”

“No problem, a compliment for a compliment right?”

Seungmin straightens up, “Wait, what?”

“Today at lunch Hyunjin was,” a pause, “being very complimentary. So like, I figured it wouldn’t be weird to be complimentary back.”

“Oh,” Jeongin nudges Hyunjin, “Complimentary? That’s so sweet. Isn’t that so sweet Seungmin?”

“That is so sweet, Jeongin,” Seungmin nods along. Hyunjin puts his head in his hands in embarrassment, “Why aren’t you that sweet to us, Jinnie?”

“Because I hate you,” Hyunjin deadpans, pushing Jeongin and Seungmin through the door frame, “Now move.”

“Fine,” Seungmin mutters, turning to face the living room and ignoring Hyunjin’s incessant pushing against his stomach, “Bye Chan! Hyunjin thinks you look good too! Even if he won’t say it now because he’s embarrassed!”

Hyunjin slams the door shut, pressing his back against it and glaring at the two boys making themselves comfortable on his bed. “I hate you both.”

“What did we do?” Jeongin pouts, “We were just helping.”

“You were not helping,” Hyunjin says, walking towards the bed, “You were being assholes on purpose. After I just had a meltdown! Do you want me to have another one? Because I _will_.”

“Oh calm down,” Seungmin waves his hand in the air dismissively, “We didn’t even do anything that bad. Besides, apparently you already told Chan how good you thought he looked.” He raises his eyebrows.

“When Jisung gets mad because Chan stops coming here because of you two, I’m not helping you dig yourselves out of that hole.” Hyunjin huffs.

“We’re a joy to be around.” Jeongin hisses.

“Just because one teacher wrote it on your report card in the third grade doesn’t make it true.” Hyunjin throws back.

The door opens, “Hey, since I was woken up by someone throwing a tantrum and slamming their door shut,” Felix glares at Hyunjin, “I’m gonna start on dinner. Be ready in an hour.”

“Oh thank god,” Seungmin falls back on the bed dramatically, “I’m starving.”

“Whatever,” Felix rolls his eyes, turning to leave. He pauses halfway, turning back to look at Hyunjin, “You going to church?”

Hyunjin throws his hands in the air, “This is just how I dress!”

\---

Dinner is yet another affair. Seungmin and Jeongin are retelling the whole story of what happened in the living room to Felix in very loud whispers, Hyunjin and Chan are both pretending they can’t hear them, and Jisung is telling them to shut up before they scare off his new friend every few seconds.

Overall, it’s humiliating. Not as humiliating as it could be, but still pretty bad. Which is why Hyunjin doesn’t expect it at all when Chan kicks his ankle under the table to catch his attention.

“My roommate's throwing a party this weekend,” Chan explains to Hyunjin’s questioning look, “You should stop by if you can.”

Hyunjin flushes, because of course he does. “A party? For what?”

The word ‘party’ catches everyone else’s attention, “Do you need a reason to throw a party?” Seungmin scoffs.

“He passed this test he was sure he was going to fail,” Chan answers, ignoring Seungmin. “I was sure too, honestly. Kind of a miracle he passed, so he wants to celebrate.”

Hyunjin laughs, flipping his hair to the side with a smile, “Well that seems fun,” He winks, “I’m sure I’ll be able to make it.” Chan grins back at him.

“We can go too,” Jisung moves his head to cut off the line of eye contact between Hyunjin and Chan, “If you wanted to know.”

“Oh, of course!” Chan jumps in his seat, turning to face the rest of the table, “All of you are invited. If I don’t answer the door just tell whoever does that I invited you and they’ll let you in.”

“Should we give them Hyunjin’s name?” Felix mutters, facing the table.

“If you want?” Chan furrows his eyebrows, “They probably won’t ask who you are though.”

Jisung punches Felix’s leg, “Of course not.” He smiles easily.

\---

“I don’t know why I said I would go,” Hyunjin groans, flopping face first onto his mattress.

“What’s the big deal?” Jisung asks, filing his nails at the head of the bed. “You were all confident at dinner on Tuesday.”

“I don’t know that Hyunjin anymore. Now this Hyunjin is freaking out about everything, including what he’s supposed to wear.”

“Stop talking about yourself in third person, it’s weird.” Seungmin calls from where he’s sat on the floor doing his makeup.

“Don’t say shit to me or I’m kicking you out and you can’t use my mirror anymore.” Hyunjin squints.

“Shutting up,” Seungmin mumbles to himself.

“I’ll help you pick out your clothes,” Hyunjin sighs in relief, “If you promise me something.”

“I’m not helping you pull tonight,” Hyunjin interrupts Jisung before he can ask.

“That’s not what I was going to say,” Jisung stretches, sitting up from his slumped position, “I need you to not sleep with Chan.”

“What?” Hyunjin sputters, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Of course you don’t,” Jisung huffs, “We all know you’ve been attracted to him since you first met him.”

“It was pretty obvious with how weird you acted.” Seungmin agrees.

“And the melt down,” Jisung nods, “But that’s fine! We all have our brief crushes on the hot people we come across,” Hyunjin sighs, laying his head back down on the bed, “But now I’m starting to wonder if he’s attracted to you as well.”

“He’s not.” Hyunjin denies quickly.

“Your opinion doesn’t count, you never know when people are flirting with you.” Jisung gives him a deadpan look when he goes to argue, “Don’t start. We all know it’s true.”

“Whatever,” Hyunjin rolls his eyes, “This time I know he’s not into me.”

“Believe what you want, but if he is, and something almost happens, I’m asking you, as a friend, to step away from it.”

“Why?”

“Because I need him to myself until our project is over, and you two are too unpredictable right now. Who knows if things will be weird or not after and you know I have a hard time paying attention in new spaces.” Hyunjin does know that. “So please, don’t sleep with him until the project’s over. After that he’s all yours.”

Hyunjin exhales harshly, “Fine, I’ll make sure nothing happens until you allow it. But I don’t think you have anything to worry about. Besides, I already told you I want to marry him, not just sleep with him.”

“We’ll see.”

\---

“I think I see Eric,” Felix shouts, leaning on his tiptoes to see over all the people in front of him, “I’m gonna go say hi.” He walks off, wrapping a hand around Jisung’s wrist to tug him along.

“I thought we weren’t splitting up this time!” Hyunjin yells at their retreating figures. He scoffs to himself, turning to talk to Jeongin and Seungmin only to find empty spaces where they were. “Nice.” He frowns, turning to walk to the kitchen.

When he gets there he grabs a cup and a bottle of vodka, pouring enough to fill it halfway and then topping it off with coke. He downs most of it in one gulp, wincing at the burning feeling going down his throat.

“Hey man,” Someone says next to him, “You okay? That was kind of a lot all at once.”

Hyunjin turns to the voice, smiling at the very handsome man in front of him, “I’m fine,” He says, “Just a little nervous.”

“About what?” The stranger asks, amused.

“There’s a cute boy here and I don’t know how to talk to him,” Hyunjin leans in and stage whispers. He leans back, looking the boy up and down, “I think he’s even cuter than you.”

“Even cuter than me?” The man feigns shock, leaning a hip against the counter, “That can’t be possible.”

“It is,” Hyunjin nods emphatically, “It’s very distracting.”

“I bet,” The boy smiles, “You want some water?”

“My friend told me to never accept a drink from a stranger,” Hyunjin tells him. 

“You’re friend is probably right,” He nods, “I’ll show you where the water bottles are so you can grab one by yourself.”

“Are you sure that’s okay?” Hyunjin asks even as he trails after the other boy, “I don’t want to make anyone mad.”

“It’s fine,” The boy assures him, opening the fridge “It’s my house too.”

“Wait,” Hyunjin stops where he is, “You live here?”

“Yeah,” The guy laughs, holding a hand out, “I’m Minho. Which one of my roommates invited you?”

“Chan,” Hyunjin says faintly, shaking Minho’s hand. “Uh, I’m Hyunjin.”

“Oh,” Minho looks at him in surprise, “Hyunjin, huh. Here,” Minho motions for him to grab a water bottle. Hyunjin does, gulping some of it down immediately to stop the swirling going on in his head. “Chan’s out back if you want to go find him.”

“Uh,” Hyunjin says eloquently, “He’s kind of the one I was avoiding.”

“Well then,” Minho laughs, “What would you rather do instead?”

“You said you were his roommate?” Hyunjin clarifies. Minho nods his head. “The one that passed the test?”

“Oh, that’s Changbin,” Minho points over to the beer pong table where four people are playing, “He’s the one in the douchey tank top.”

Hyunjin nods. Is it like a prerequisite to be hot as fuck if you want to live here? “Nice,” Hyunjin nods, “Cool, cool, cool, uh, I’m gonna go find my friends.”

“Sure,” Minho shrugs, “Mind if I tag along?”

“Feel free.” Hyunjin goes back to the crowd of people, shoving through them until he finds Felix and Jisung, wrapped around each other and talking to Eric. “Hey,” Hyunjin breathes, pressing against Felix’s side and motioning over his shoulder, “This is Minho. He’s Chan’s roommate.”

“Hi!” Minho grins at them, “I’m glad you guys made it.”

“You okay?” Felix leans into Hyunjin, letting Jisung pick up the conversation with Minho.

“I embarrassed myself already,” Hyunjin pouts.

“What happened?” Felix asks in his baby voice.

“I told Minho I was thirsting after his roommate,” Hyunjin sighs, “Time to light myself on fire. I knew the day would come, I just didn’t think it would be so soon.”

“Oh,” Felix pouts with him, “Here, drink this to make yourself feel better.”

Hyunjin takes the cup, throwing back whatever was in it, “God, what was that? Battery acid?” He chokes, coughing at the stinging in his throat.

“It was whiskey,” Felix laughs.

“You’re so mean to me,” Hyunjin sighs, snuggling further into Felix.

“I’m just trying to take advantage of your non-existent alcohol tolerance, you seem like you need to loosen up.”

“I’m already halfway there,” Hyunjin tells him seriously, “had like half a cup of vodka so I wouldn’t be so nervous.” 

Felix nods and pats at Hyunjin’s head. It’s a nice feeling, and as the alcohol he’s consumed settles into his system it forces his whole body to relax. Which is why, when Chan eventually makes his way over to their group, he has no qualms about talking to him. 

“Hey,” he grins sloppily at Hyunjin, “when did you guys get here?” 

Hyunjin grins back from his place tucked into Felix’s shoulder, “Not too long ago. What have you been up to tonight?”

Before Chan can answer, Jisung takes it upon himself to force his way in between them.

“Hey Chan,” he shouts, “great party!”

“Thank you!” Chan shouts back, then looks at Hyunjin, “Do you want to go get a drink?” 

Hyunjin nods, “Yeah, for sure,” and turns to let Felix know. 

“Are you sure you should be drinking anymore?” 

“I’ll be fine, I’m a big boy.”

Felix frowns, “You’re swaying on your feet from two drinks already. I know you like Chan but is it actually a good idea to go get more drunk with him?” 

“I’ll be fine mom,” Hyunjin rolls his eyes, “I’ll let you know if I move an inch in either direction.” Felix sighs and waves him off, deciding it’s easier to just let him go. 

As Hyunjin follows Chan to the kitchen Jisung yells out, “Don’t forget our promise,” but Hyunjin is already too absorbed into his night to care and pointedly ignores his friend.

Once they get to the drinks table Chan hands Hyunjin a shot glass filled with tequila.

“Lick your hand.” 

“What?”

Chan laughs, “Like this,” he says, licking the back of his hand and sprinkling salt on it.

“Here, just,” Hyunjin grabs Chan’s arm and brings it to his own mouth, licking up the salt and then downing his shot, guiding Chan’s other hand holding a lime slice to his mouth so he can suck on it, wrapping his lips around it purposefully, “thanks.”

“Mhm,” Chan coughs, “No problem.” 

Hyunjin steps back, “Do you want to go dance?” 

“Yeah,” Chan says, dragging his eyes up and down Hyunjin’s frame, “I’d love to dance.”

They have to pass Jisung and Felix on their way to the living room, and Hyunjin waves to let them know he’s leaving where he said he would be. Jisung glares and the message is clear.

_Do not sleep with Chan._

\---

Two hours later Hyunjin is pressed against the back of Chan’s bedroom door, Chan’s mouth attached to his neck and Hyunjin’s shirt missing possibly forever. 

Actually, it’s all Chan’s fault they ended up here, though at the moment Hyunjin has no complaints. 

It had started with the dancing, because of course it did. Hyunjin knew he was a good dancer, he was just surprised to see Chan wasn’t too bad himself and kept up easily. Which was hot. Like, really hot.

When Chan grabbed his hip and pulled him closer, Hyunjin was gone. When someone almost spilled their entire drink down Hyunjin’s back and Chan picked him up and moved him just in time, without looking like he was struggling even a little bit? Hyunjin was ready to drop to his knees.

So, Chan’s fault, but zero complaints. “Come on, get this off,” Hyunjin breathes out, pushing Chan’s open shirt down his arms.

“Come here,” Chan groans, turning them and walking Hyunjin backwards until he falls back on the bed, “Is this okay?”

Hyunjin pauses to stare up at the ceiling, breathing deeply to calm the swirling of his stomach’s contents. “Yeah, yeah this is good.”

Chan straddles Hyunjins hips, “You’ll tell me if it’s not?”

“Yeah,” Hyunjin agrees quickly. Chan leans down, pressing their lips back together for a second before Hyunjin’s pushing at his chest to get him off, “Oh shit,” He mumbles, “Bathroom?”

“Uh, that door.” Chan points to the door in the corner of the room, moving out of the way.

“Thanks,” Hyunjin smiles briefly, getting off the bed and rushing into the bathroom and making sure to close the door the entire way. He drops to his knees, leaning over the bowl and emptying the contents of his stomach.

Once he’s done he leans his head against the counter, groaning in humiliation and the still sickly feeling throwing up always leaves behind. There’s knocking on the door, “Hyunjin? You okay?”

He groans again, ignoring Chan in favor of leaning over the toilet again to dry heave. The door opens, and he doesn’t bother turning around.

“Oh, man,” Chan sighs, brushing Hyunjin’s hair away from his face, “Alright, it’s okay. Just let all out man.”

“I think I’m drunk,” Hyunjin whines, leaning into Chan’s touch. 

Chan sighs, “Yeah, I think so too.” They sit there for a moment in silence, making sure Hyunjin’s actually done this time.

“Let’s go get you in bed,” Chan wraps his arms under Hyunjin’s armpits, helping him stand back up and leading him back into the bedroom. “Do you want me to get your friends?”

Chan lays Hyunjin on the bed, pulling his shoes off, and undoing the button of his pants while batting his wandering hands away. 

“Wait,” Hyunjin suddenly gasps, sitting up, “we’re going to miss our train.”

“Our train?”

“Yeah,” he giggles, “Our train to bone town. Jeongin told me you were going to take me to bone town. We can't let him be wrong.”

Chan laughs, pushing his torso so he’s laying down again, “Should I tell them we missed the train?”

“No,” Hyunjin mumbles, snuggling into the pillow beneath his head, “They’re gonna make fun of me.”

“Okay,” Chan shrugs, placing an empty trashcan next to Hyunjin’s head and making sure he was laying on his side, “You can just sleep in here tonight then. If you need me I’ll be in the room across from this one, okay?”

“Just stay here,” Hyunjin groans, “It’s your room anyways.”

“Are you sure?”

“Mhm,” Hyunjin hums. He falls asleep before he can hear Chan’s response.

\---

As it usually goes, Hyunjin doesn’t wake up the next morning until almost noon, head pounding and eyes blurry. It only takes a minute for him to remember the night before and as he oh so carefully flips over he prays to every deity he knows the name of that Chan will still be asleep.

By the grace of the universe he is, and Hyunjin’s next mission has him slipping out of bed, grabbing his shirt and shoes, and booking it out of the room as quickly as possible. 

Unfortunately for Hyunjin, Chan’s roommates, Changbin and Minho, are in the kitchen, cooking what looks like breakfast. The smell has Hyunjin pursing his lips, trying to keep himself from throwing up again. 

Minho turns around while Hyunjin is in the process of making his way to the door.

“Oh shit,” he flinches, “you’re not Chan.” The comment is enough to make Changbin turn around as well.

Hyunjin laughs nervously, “No, I’m not Chan,” Changbin looks at him weird so he waves, “Hey, we haven’t met but I’m Hyunjin.” 

Changbin’s eyes widen, “Oh hey man, I’m Changbin. Do you, like, wanna stay for breakfast?”

“Oh no, I should get going, my roommates are probably worried about me.” Hyunjin tells them, smiling awkwardly, “Thanks for the offer though.” 

Minho nods, “Chan’s not awake?” Hyunjin shakes his head. “Okay. Be safe on your way home.” 

Hyunjin thanks both of them, for the party the night before and for the breakfast offer, bolts out of the house, texts his mom to ask for money and hails a taxi, regretting approximately all of his decisions ever.

\---

When Hyunjin gets home all of his roommates are around the table, eating breakfast and chatting. However, once he walks into the kitchen the noise stops. 

“Hey,” he says sheepishly, “got room for one more?” 

Felix is the first to respond, “Of course we do,” he reassures, “why don’t you go sit next to Innie?”

Hyunjin does as he’s told and makes himself as small as possible to avoid Jisung’s disapproving gaze.

“Dude,” Jeongin whispers, “Jisung’s totally pissed. Seungmin told him he saw you going into Chan’s room last night and he almost lost it. For real this time.”

“Well why did the idiot tell Jisung,” Hyunjin hisses back.

Seungmin leans in, “Because Felix was about to put an APB out on you. If you wanted to keep your little romp with Chan a secret you should’ve come up with a cover up so I didn’t have to snitch.”

“Maybe if you guys stayed with me like we all agreed I wouldn’t have gotten the chance to go fuck Chan.” 

Jisung sighs, placing his chopsticks down, “I was going to ignore the situation until after breakfast but you guys are loud as fuck and you’re making it impossible.”

“Sorry,” the three mutter, straightening up in their seats.

“Hyunjin,” Jisung glares, “What the hell dude. You promised.”

“I didn’t actually sleep with him if it makes you feel better,” Hyunjin bats his eyelashes.

“It doesn’t.”

Hyunjin wilts, “I’m sorry Sungie,” he whines, “can you ever forgive me?”

“No.” 

“Okay guys,” Felix cuts in, “I think we’re all just a little wound up. Why don’t we just take some time to think things through and we can talk then.” 

Hyunjin huffs, “No, fuck you Jisung. You knew I was weak and you still left me alone, like, as soon as we got there. If you had such a problem with it you should’ve stuck by my side.”

“You’re twenty-one Hyunjin. I refuse to follow you around like a little kid to make sure you’re not doing anything you’re not supposed to. And if we’re going to start blaming each other, I would just like to know why you would be licking shots out of Chan’s fucking mouth when you know you can’t drink for shit.”

“Ew,” Jeongin gags, “What the hell dude.”

“I never even did that,” Hyunjin protests.

Jisung raises an eyebrow, “That’s not what Renjun told me.”

Hyunjin flounders, “It was a joke!”

“I thought you never did it?”

“Kind of nasty Jin,” Seungmin tells him, face pinched up.

Felix throws a napkin at Jisung’s face and an ice cube at Hyunjin’s, “We are having breakfast,” he grinds out, “I don’t want to hear about this until the meal I spent an hour cooking, while hungover, is finished.”

“But-”

“No. Either find something else to talk about or shut the hell up.” 

The rest of breakfast is eaten in silence.

\---

It’s not until later that afternoon that Hyunjin slinks out of his room and goes into the living room, sitting next to Jisung on the couch and laying his head in his lap.

“I’m sorry,” he sighs, “I should’ve kept my promise.”

Jisung runs a hand through his hair, “It’s fine. I’m sorry for being kind of harsh earlier.”

Hyunjin hums in acknowledgment, nestling more into Jisung’s hand to make himself feel better.

“Did you really not have sex with him?”

Hyunjin groans, “Oh my god, please don’t remind me of that disaster.”

“Oh shit,” Jisung laughs, “was he awful?”

“No,” Hyunjin whines, kicking his legs, “he’s so fucking hot. But, like, right before it could go anywhere I threw up.” 

“Oh shit, like on him?” 

Hyunjin glares, “No not on him. In the toilet. But obviously it killed the mood. He literally tucked me into bed, like what is sexy about that?”

“It’s sweet though.”

“Yeah, I guess. Then this morning I booked it before he woke up and his roommates caught me and it was just awful. It’s literally karma for going behind your back.” 

“The you vomming all over the place part wasn’t that bad, but you ditched? I thought I raised you better than that.”

“What would you have done if you were in my position?” Hyunjin groans, “I’ve embarrassed myself repeatedly in front of him and somehow he was still willing to get in this WAP and I actually threw up right before he was able to,” Hyunjin says, steadily getting louder as he went on his little tirade, “What is that? Why is this my life? Who did I piss off for all of this shit to happen to me in specific?”

“What in the hell is a WAP?”

“Keep up with the current trends, Jisung! God!” Hyunjin cries, throwing his hands over his eyes.

“Okay, let’s take three deep breaths,” Jisung tries to calm him down, “One, two, three, good.”

Hyunjin sighs wetly, “I hate my life.”

“Hey, your life led you to living here,” Jisung nudges him, “Be a little grateful.”

“That makes it even worse,” Hyunjin grumbles.

“I think you’re very upset, so I’m gonna let you have that one,” Hyunjin nods, closing his eyes. “But you can’t sleep on me here, I’m not comfortable enough,” Hyunjin whines, latching an arm around Jisung’s thighs to keep him from moving, “Come on, up. We can go lay together in your room.”

They walk over there together, laying down in Hyunjin’s bed and snuggling in as close as they can, “Thanks for being the best sometimes,” Hyunjin tells Jisung.

“It’s both my best quality and a detriment,” Jisung sighs.

\--

“You’ve got to be joking,” Jisung says, leaning against Hyunjin’s door frame.

“I’m not,” Hyunjin croaks, “Ask Seungmin, I was at a hundred and two earlier.”

“He was,” Sengmin nods, “But I also caught him holding his tea mug to his forehead right before I took his temperature.”

“Traitor,” Hyunjin hisses.

“Hyunjin,” Jisung sighs.

“Ji, I’m serious. I really think I’m sick and I don't want to spread that to anyone. Maybe it would be better for you to go to Chan’s today.”

“You do realize if I get sick from you Chan is going to as well, right?” Jisung raises an eyebrow.

“Which is why I’ve kept away from you today,” Hyunjin explains, “You should probably leave now, we wouldn’t want you to be late.”

“You’re lucky,” Jisung says, running a hand down his face, “we already have a sound room booked for tonight. But I will not entertain this on Thursday.”

“Hopefully I’ll be better by then,” Hyunjin nods solemnly.

Jisung rolls his eyes, pushing away from the door frame and walking down the hall. “I love you!” Hyunjin calls after him.

“Whatever!”

Hyunjin lays in bed with a pitiful look on his face, Seungmin giving him a distrustful look. Once the front door closes he throws the covers off of him, sitting up and ripping the cold washcloth off of his forehead, “Finally he’s gone.”

“Are you kidding?” Seungmin says blankly, “You made me take care of you all day just so you could force Jisung to go to Chan’s with a farce he didn't even actually believe?”

“Of course he believed it, Min,” Hyunjin waves him away, “He left, didn’t he?”

“Because he had to, not because you duped him.”

“If that’s what you want to believe,” Hyunjin shrugs onnoxiously.

“Oh my God,” Seungmin moans, “How do we deal with you?”

“Because you love me,” Hyunjin grins cheekily, “Now let’s go out to eat, I’m starving.”

\---

Two days later Hyunjin feels like shit, unable to roll out of bed once he wakes up. Since everyone’s day starts before his, he has to wait until Jeongin gets home at lunchtime, crying out for him as soon as he hears the door open.

“Hyunjin?” Jeongin calls, coming down the hall, “Why aren’t you in class?”

“I texted you,” Hyunjin rasps, “I’m sick.”

“Bro, like forreal? Jisung said you were lying the other day.”

“I was lying the other day, but now I’m being so dead serious. I feel like ass.”

Jeongin steps back, “Should I, like, call a doctor or something?”

“Seriously?”

“I don’t know what to do, I’ve never had to take care of sick people before!”

“Fucking youngest children,” Hyunjin mutters.

“Huh?”

“Nothing, just go get a thermometer.” Jeongin listens, running like someone’s chasing him and Hyunjin grabs his phone.

sungsung <3

jinnie: hey  
jinnie: i’m like super sick  
jinnie: you and Chan should go to his house or the library or smth

sungie: no<3

jinnie: what???

sungie: i said no  
sungie: i told you on tues that i wouldn’t be dealing with this today  
sungie: you’ll be fine  
sungie: just deal w whatever awkwardness is there and you’ll be fine  
sungie: if it makes you feel better he asked abt you the other day 

jinnie: but i’m being like so serious  
jinnie: i’m deadass sick as hell

sungie: i’ll come say hi when we get there so you know

jinnie: I’m Sick

_read 1:34pm_

Hyunjin throws his phone to the otherside of the bed, grabbing the thermometer out of Jeongin’s hands when he holds it out to him. 

“You need to text Jisung and tell him that I’m actually sick and he needs to take Chan somewhere else tonight.”

Jeongin nods, already typing on his phone. He gets a response seconds later.

“Uh, he said no with a red heart.”

Hyunjin looks at his temperature. 102.2.

“Fuck me.”

\---

Hyunjin has Jeongin spend the day running around for him, getting medicine, taking temperatures, the likes. The only bad part is that Jeongin has no idea how to cook, and neither of them know what sick people are supposed to eat, so Hyunjin has crackers and gatorade all day. 

When Jisung gets home Hyunjin jumps into the shower before he can see him, giving Jeongin strict instructions to reiterate how sick Hyunjin is and leave it at that. 

The hot water on Hyunjin’s body feels like nothing, probably a result of his body being so warm already, but rather than wonder if that’s okay he hops in quickly, not wanting Jisung to pull him out of the room or anything. 

It’s nice for maybe five minutes. All of the sweat that had cooled onto his skin slides off, and the steam from the water helps unclog his nose a little bit. Hyunjin tilts his head under the water to scrub at his scalp. As his head lifts back up, little black spots cloud his vision. He only has a brief moment to worry if he’s about to pass out before he does exactly that. 

\---

Jeongin’s had a rough day. Coming home to Hyunjin being all whiny and needy was not what he expected for his nice Thursday afternoon. Honestly, he doesn’t even know where to start with helping someone who’s so sick. Usually, when someone isn’t feeling good Felix shoves medicine and vegetables down their throat until the illness goes away. It’s never gotten to the point where someone needs to be taken care of because they’re so sick.

Furthermore, taking care of Hyunjin while he’s sick is nearly impossible. The man is usually overdramatic, but being sick has pretty much turned him into a theater major, one who does stuff like tossing blankets completely off the bed because he’s hot and crying when he gets cold five minutes later. 

The drama is why a thump in the bathroom makes Jeongin roll his eyes. Hyunjin throwing a tantrum was nothing new, and it was something all of the roommates were well-versed in dealing with.

“You okay in there,” Jeongin calls out, not looking up from his phone. It’s only when there’s no response or other noises coming from the bathroom that he gets suspicious. 

Jeongin heaves himself out of his chair and walks over to the bathroom door, picking the lock with a bobby pin and letting himself in. 

“Oh my god,” he gasps, seeing Hyunjin’s limp body slumped over in the tub, “Hyunjin?”

Hyunjin doesn’t respond, and Jeongin does the only thing he can think of, which is turning off the water and running into the living room.

“Jisung,” he yells, panting and stuttering, “Jisung we need your help, Hyunjin-”

“Hyunjin?” Chan interrupts, “What happened with Hyunjin?”

Tears well up in Jeongin’s eyes, “I think he passed out in the shower. I just heard a thump and then I went to check on him but he’s just lying in the tub and I didn’t know what to do, I can’t carry him, I have no upper body strength, but he’s still there and we have to go get him.” 

Jisung and Chan both jump up after Jeongin tells them Hyunjin passed out, and by the time the youngest is done rambling they’re walking into the bathroom. Chan stays by the door at first, seemingly trying to respect some of Hyunjin’s modesty, but when it becomes apparent Jisung and Jeongin are unable to pick him up he steps in, hooking one arm under his knees and the other supporting his shoulders. 

The movement must startle Hyunjin awake, his eyes opening slowly while Chan carries him to his bed and tells Jeongin to grab a towel. 

Jeongin places the towel down on Hyunjin’s bed and Chan sets Hyunjin down on top of it, using another towel to cover up his bottom half.

“He probably overheated,” Chan explains Jisung when he tries to put a blanket over him, “the towels should be okay for now.”

“This is the worst thing that’s ever happened to me,” Hyunjin moans out quietly, “did I seriously faint in the shower?”

Chan nods, “You did, but I’m sure this can’t be the absolute worst thing that’s ever happened to you.” 

“It’s pretty high up there,” Hyunjin yawns, turning his head and seeing Jeongin crying.

“Why’re you crying?”

“Because you asshole,” Jeongin sobs, draping himself over his sick friend, “I went into the bathroom and your stupid lifeless body was just laying there. I was so scared.”

Hyunjin rubs his back, “I’m sorry Innie, I didn’t mean to freak you out.” 

“Hey Hyunjin,” Chan crouches down so they’re eye level, “can you look at me for a second?”

Hyunjin does, but refuses to look to the side when Chan asks him too.

“I can’t,” he admits, “you’re too handsome, I can’t look away.”

Chan huffs a laugh and stands, turning to face the other two, “For the next couple days just pay attention if he acts differently. Headaches, confusion, nausea, the works. It could be a sign that he bumped his head on his way down.”

“Mmm, you’re hot when you’re giving orders,” Hyunjin smirks as best he can while only half aware. Chan pats his head. 

“Since you’re sick and I know you have absolutely no idea what you’re saying I’ll let you have that one.”

“No,” Hyunjin whines, “you’re too attractive to be a homophobe. And you were totally going to let me suck your dick the other day. No way that was all fake.”

Chan closes his eyes for a moment, and when they open he looks more calm than before. “You’re right, I’m not a homophobe. I’m bi.”

“I can’t watch this,” Jeongin whispers to Jisung, covering his ears and turning away.

“Oh good,” Hyunjin sighs wistfully, “that would’ve been such a waste.”

Jisung pushed Hyunjin’s shoulders down gently, “Okay buddy, why don’t we rest a little bit?” Hyunjin nods happily, rubbing his head against his pillow and closing his eyes.

Chan gives Jisung and Jeongin a few more tips, when they should take Hyunjin to the doctor, what to do if he faints again, and more signs he may have a concussion.

“Wait,” Hyunjin slurs, eyes closed, “Channie, if I learn what a concussion is will you make out with me again? It was so nice last time.” Chan’s mouth opens and closes but no sound comes out.

It’s only quiet for a moment, the tense atmosphere being broken when the front door slams open and Felix and Seungmin rush into the bedroom. 

“What the hell happened guys?” Felix says, pushing his way to the front of the group so he can kneel by Hyunjin’s bed and place a hand on his forehead, “You put him in a hot shower while he had a fever?”

Jeongin looks at the ground, “He wanted to take one.”

“Okay? He also wanted to shave his head two years ago, that doesn’t mean we let him! How could you be so irresponsible?” 

“I’m the youngest! I never had to learn what to do in situations like this!”

Felix whips around to point at Jisung, “You’re second oldest Jisung, I can’t believe you left Jeongin to take care of someone so sick all on his own!”

“If it helps, I didn’t actually believe he was sick.” Jisung says, flinching away from Felix’s livid stare.

“How would that help?” Seungmin asks, shaking his head.

Hyunjin twitches on the bed and five pairs of eyes train on him.

“Lix?” he mumbles. Felix reaches out to grab his hand.

“Hey sweetie.”

“Don’t tell anyone,” Hyunjin slurs, not opening his eyes, “but I think the doctor’s into me. I’m gonna slob on that knob and marry rich. Isn’t that great?”

Felix freezes, “It sounds super great Jin,” he whispers back, “why don’t you get some rest for now and we can talk more about it later.” Hyunjin’s asleep before the sentence is over, and Felix stands, turning to Chan and clasping his hands in front of him. 

“Thank you so much for all the help Chan,” he says diplomatically, guiding Chan into the living room, “Jisung texted me about how much you did, we really appreciate it. Unfortunately I don’t think today is the best day for you and Jisung to work on your project, so why don’t you text him and you can reschedule for this weekend. Sounds good?” Chan agrees and grabs his stuff, packing up quickly and telling Felix to give Hyunjin his well wishes.

Felix waits approximately five seconds after the door closes to turn on his healthy roommates.

“I want this entire house scrubbed, we cannot afford to start spreading bugs to one another. I’m going to go make some soup. Jisung you owe Hyunjin an apology when he wakes up. And no one is allowed to tell him what he said about Chan. Understood?”

They agree and split up, only grumbling a little about how unfair it all was. 

\---

The rest of the weekend is spent with Felix nursing Hyunjin back to health. Felix refuses to enter his room in fear that he’ll also get sick, so they place a tray on a step stool and push it back and forth. After twelve hours alone Hyunjin starts crying because he feels lonely, so his roommates push their table in front of his door and have all their meals there, with him in his bed and not allowed to get any closer.

Hyunjin can vaguely remember passing out, he knows that Chan was the one to haul him out of the shower, but that’s pretty much where the memories end. None of his friends will fill him in either but the memory loss is enough of a red flag that Felix makes him a doctors appointment for Monday morning. 

The doctor tests him for the flu, and it comes back negative, but she also tells him that he probably did have it and now he’s just recovered since he hasn’t had a fever in awhile. Another doctor checks him for a concussion and finds nothing wrong. With the all clear Hyunjin is finally let out of his bedroom and goes back to classes on Tuesday. 

Once his dance teacher finds out how sick he was she kicks him out of class, promising to count him present and just not wanting to be responsible for him losing consciousness again. 

Hyunjin takes the opportunity to meet with his tutor early, knocking out some of the work he missed from the week before and gets out of there with time to spare. 

It’s nice to get home early again, and Hyunjin is in a surprisingly good mood. He heads to the kitchen to talk to Felix, only pausing for a moment to say hello to Chan in the living room.

He freezes in the doorway, turning his head slowly to see if Chan is actually sitting on his couch, “Hey Chan. Is Jisung in the bathroom?”

“Hey Jinnie,” Chan waves, “yeah he is. How are you feeling?”

Hyunjin stumbles, tripping over his own feet as he tries to flip around to lean on the door frame. 

“Oh, I’ve been super great. You?” 

Chan smiles warmly, “I’ve been okay. I was just worried about you this weekend, I know you were pretty sick.” Hyunjin resists the urge to fall into his lap.

“Okay, look,” Hyunjin says, walking over and sitting next to Chan on the couch, “You’ve really got to stop.”

“Stop? Did I do something wrong?”

Hyunjin deflates, “No you didn’t, that’s the problem. Every time you open your mouth you say the most perfect shit, and it’s making me have to repeatedly stop myself from climbing you like a tree. Normally, after the party, I would just go ahead. But I promised Jisung I wouldn’t do anything with you until your project is over and I almost broke that last weekend and now you’re making it nearly impossible not to do it again. I just need you to be, like, an asshole or something so I can stop myself.”

“So I haven’t done anything wrong, you just want to climb me like a tree because I’m so irresistible?” 

Hyunjin stomps his foot. “Chan!” 

“Okay,” Chan laughs, “I’m sorry. I’ll try to be less perfect so it’s easier for you to stop yourself from throwing yourself at me.” 

“It’ll probably be easier if you wear a mask,” Hyunjin mutters.

“But,” Chan continues, “I’d really like to get to know you better. So once this project’s over I’m going to ask you on a date, and then your tree climbing activities can happen after that. Is that a deal?” 

The situation is new to Hyunjin, who was kind of expecting Chan to call him a weirdo and avoid the hell out of him, but he manages to squeak out an agreement. Jisung comes out of the bathroom before they can talk anymore and Hyunjin runs off to the kitchen, eager to tell someone about what had just occurred. 

The kitchen is full with Felix, Seungmin, and Jeongin all staring at him as soon as he walks in. Hyunjin widens his eyes, pointing behind himself.

“Did you hear that?”

Jeongin nods, “Dude he’s like actually into you! I totally thought after the whole doctor thing he would’ve decided you weren’t worth it.”

“What doctor thing?”

“It’s not important,” Felix says, grabbing Hyunjin’s hand a jumping around, “I can’t believe your weird ass got a man!”

Seungmin joins them in celebrating, “Jinnie got a boy, Jinnie got a boy,” he sings. 

“Guys, we can hear you,” Jisung yells, causing them to stop what they were doing. 

Hyunjin goes and pokes his head out of the doorway, “So sorry,” he giggles, “we were talking about a show Jeongin’s been watching.” 

“It sounds fun,” Chan says, “seems like a show I would like.” 

Hyunjin bites back his giddy smile, nodding while slinking back into the kitchen, dancing around and screaming silently. 

\---

Chan skips dinner this time, explaining that Changbin’s parents were in town visiting and were going to be taking them out. The roommates bid him a farewell, Jisung standing in front of Hyunjin so he’s unable to walk Chan out like he originally said he would. All things considered it’s fair, so Hyunjin allows it, standing in the back and waving. 

Of course, with Chan gone there’s almost no line his friends won’t cross, and Hyunjin spends his meal fielding questions and promising Jisung it would all be fine. 

“Planning to date doesn’t count as staying away,” Jisung argues, biting angrily into a carrot, “you might as well give him a promise ring and start house shopping right now.”

Hyunjin rolls his eyes, “You never told me to stay away, you told me not to sleep with him and I didn’t. You’re welcome.”

“Okay but you only didn’t sleep with him because you hold your alcohol like a toddler, not because your morality wouldn’t allow you to screw Jisung over like that,” Seungmin points out.

“Thank you,” Jisung points at him, “this kid gets loyalty.”

“I disagree,” Felix says, shaking his head, “nothing will actually be happening until after you’re done with him. It’s not like Hyunjin’s breaking any boundaries, he’s just carefully marking out his schedule so he doesn’t.”

“Can we stop talking about it like Jisung and I are just passing Chan back and forth?”

“Felix is right,” Jeongin declares, “As much as it pains me, he has a point. It’s a little shady but if the loophole is there,” he shrugs. 

Jisung gapes, “No, not if the loophole is there. You guys were in the kitchen so you didn’t see, but when Hyunjin was out here poorly covering up your little giggle fest it was disgusting. I almost threw up like fifteen times. I can’t deal with that shit everytime Chan comes over.”

“It’s not like I’m going to be walking in and falling into his lap to suck his dick,” Hyunjin scoffs, “It’ll be like normal, I’ll just go hang out in my room. No harm no foul.” 

“Whatever,” Jisung huffs, “but if you’re nasty I’m kicking you out of the house.” 

“You don’t have that power.” 

“Actually I agree,” Jeongin chimes.

Seungmin nods, “I do too, I’ve been waiting for a reason to kick Hyunjin since he ate my leftovers last week.” 

“You left them in the fridge for two straight days, they were going bad!”

“I was going to eat them eventually,” Seungmin argues, “you just didn’t want to cook for yourself.”

“No one is being kicked out,” Felix interrupts, “because Hyunjin will be on his best behavior whenever Chan’s here and it’ll be like nothing’s changed. Right?”

Hyunjin shrugs, “Right, like nothing changed.” 

\---

The whole acting normal thing doesn’t really work. On Thursday Hyunjin has to stay after class to talk to his dance instructor. They figure out a plan so that Hyunjin can catch up on the days he missed, but since it takes so long he has to rush to the train station, hopping on the redline in his sweaty dance clothes.

He slams the door behind him when he gets home, peeling his shirt off his back from where it had ridden up. Unfortunately for him, Hyunjin had worn a crop top and shorts to class, and had to deal with the stares of businessmen his whole way home.

Glad to escape all the attention, Hyunjin stomps into his house, ready to start complaining to whoever he saw first.

Weirdly enough, it ends up being Chan, sitting on his living room couch like usual. They make eye contact for just a second, Chan’s eye dropping to his waist almost immediately. His gaze drags down his legs slowly, and Hyunjin can feel it in his gut. Hyunjin’s eyelids droop, and he bites his bottom lip, staring back unabashedly. It’s so much different, being stared at by old men in suits and being stared at by someone you want to notice you. The feeling of Chan’s eyes on him warms Hyunjin’s stomach, and he instinctively places one foot in front of him, sitting into his hip. Posing. 

It’s at that moment that Jisung looks up to see why his project partner went silent, immediately looking back at his laptop when he’s faced with whatever the hell was going on.

“Hyunjin,” he snaps, startling the boys out of their trance, “go jerk it in the shower and get the hell out of here.”

Hyunjin pulls his bag in front of him, “Right. I’m going to go shower. Sweaty and all.” He scurries off, throwing one last glance at Chan and slamming his bedroom door behind him, needing the barrier to collect himself.

_Jesus._

\---

Hyunjin makes it a point to stay in his room until dinnertime, hoping that if he gives Jisung enough space he’ll forget to be mad. He also needs the time to get his head on right so he doesn’t walk out and jump onto Chan. 

It’s an interesting dynamic at dinner. Chan sits to the right of Hyunjin and Jisung pushes Seungmin out of the chair to his left, sitting and staring. The whole thing has no effect on Hyunjin’s behavior, and he spends the night playing footsie with Chan. 

Two days later Chan invites all of them to another party at his place, and Hyunjin’s quick to agree on behalf of all of them. It annoys Jisung, which makes it even more worth it. 

On Saturday night, Seungmin and Jeongin plop themselves onto Hyunjin’s bed, helping him pick out an outfit. Felix had originally agreed to help as well, but Jisung claimed him for himself, citing a need for emotional support before having to deal with Hyunjin and Chan again. 

Hyunjin almost wishes he had convinced him to trade the two youngest for Felix, at one point deciding he’d rather show up in completely mix matched clothes than deal with the pair anymore. 

“You need to catch his attention,” Seungmin tells him, “but like good attention, not ‘I don’t know how to dress please feel bad for me’ attention.”

“Well then you pick something out,” Hyunjin bites, throwing his latest outfit choice onto the bed. 

Jeongin hops up, “Thank god, I’ve been waiting for Seungmin to wear you down. Give me like ten minutes.” He dashes out of the room.

“What did I do,” Hyunjin groans, flopping onto the bed, “he’s going to pick something dumb.”

Exactly ten minutes later Jeongin comes back in, hands full of black fabric that he dumps on to the bed. 

He grabs something and holds it out, “These are the jeans, they’re super ripped in the front, but even better,” he flips them around, “there’s a cut under your ass cheek, and one big one across the opposite inseam.”

Hyunjin’s mouth drops, “Jeongin-”

Jeongin’s voice continues over it, “For the top I just got you this black one with hearts, but you have to leave at least four buttons undone and tuck it in. Then the belt has a gold buckle so you need to wear a bunch of gold chains and rings, and black platforms to make you taller.” 

“Chan’s already like a foot shorter than him, how much taller does he need to be?”

“Thanks for pointing that out asshole.”

“Obviously something about the height difference is doing it for him or else he’d ditch. Just trust me.” 

Hyunjin doesn’t. “How do you even have all of this stuff?” he asks. 

“I also like to look good Hyunjin, you’re not the only one trying to get a man.” 

“Wait, these are yours? Why are they so ripped?” 

Jeongin shrugs, “It already had the ass rip, and then this guy grabbed me one time and ripped the inside and Seungmin told me it looked hot.”

“Word.” 

“What exactly have you guys been up to without me?” 

Seungmin makes a face, “Does it matter? Just go get dressed, you’re gonna make us late.” 

Hyunjin drops it, not sure if he wants to hear all the details of his friends' personal lives. The other two leave to get ready on their own. With his hair and make up already done Hyunjin’s ready in just a couple of minutes, walking out to sit on the couch and wait. 

It takes another twenty minute, but eventually everyone starts to finish up and walk out of their rooms. 

Jisung walks out his room, sees Hyunjin, and immediately glares, “What the hell are you wearing?”

“Clothes.”

“I wouldn’t call those clothes, Jin,” Felix says, walking out behind Jisung, “they’re more like something a rabid dog got a hold of.”

Hyunjin throws his hands up, “Am I really being judged for my clothes in my own home?”

“Of course not, you look hot as hell. I just don’t think your outfit could be legally defined as clothes.”

“Well it’s a good thing we’re not in the middle of a court case.”

Jisung sighs, rubbing his face, “You look good.”

“Thank you,” Hyunjin sniffs. 

Jeongin and Seungmin walk out and it becomes very apparent that Hyunjin is way more dressed up than the rest of them. He decided to just accept it, knowing that Jeongin did it on purpose. 

“Okay, let’s go.” 

—-

The exact second Hyunjin walks into the party he knows it’s going to be a rough night. Chan must have been waiting for them, because the moment they get there he walks up to them. 

Chan says hello to everyone, telling them they can make themselves comfortable blah blah blah. What Hyunjin’s really waiting for is the undivided attention he knows he’s due for. 

It comes as quickly as expected. Chan looks at him for a second and can’t stop from that point on. 

“Holy shit,” he groans, “what the hell man.” 

Hyunjin grins, “I have no idea what you mean.” 

“I’m out of here,” Jisung mutters, taking off to get a drink and dragging his friends along with him. 

“This is literally so fucked up,” Chan whines, “How is it fair that you walk in here looking like you do?” 

“I just wanted to look my best tonight. There’s this guy I’m trying to impress,” Hyunjin shrugs nonchalantly. 

“Oh yeah?” 

“Yeah. He seems to get it, but I kind of wish he’d just make a move.” 

“I could kill you,” Chan tells him, “but I kind of feel like you might kill me first.” 

Hyunjin laughs, “Yeah, maybe. Get me a drink?” 

Chan agrees, leading him into the kitchen and pouring them both a shot. 

“Are you good to do it alone this time? Or are you going to use me again.” 

“Here,” Hyunjin grabs his hand and guides it to his mouth, tipping the drink in and making sure to lick the liquid that slips down Chan’s thumb. He grabs a Coke from the table and pops it open, using it to chase the burn making its way down his throat. 

“Thanks,” he says innocently, “needed some help.” 

Chan shakes his head, “I can’t believe you hid from me when we met and now you’re licking shots off my hand in the middle of a party. Who are you?” 

“I swear to god it’s these pants. They’re magical, I put them on and now I feel like I can do anything.”

“They’re very,” Chan pauses and looks at Hyunjin’s legs again, “empowering.”

“I don’t know what that means, but hell yeah.” 

Fifteen minutes and three drinks later, Hyunjin and Chan are sprawled along the couch with Chan’s roommates. Hyunjin’s legs are thrown over Chan’s lap, and Chan has a thumb carefully tucked into the rip under his ass. The position’s nice, warm, and makes Hyunjin’s whole body tingle. 

Chan’s friends are also pretty fun, even though their conversation is interrupted every couple minutes by someone else coming to say hi to Chan. Hyunjin thinks it’s cool that his friends are okay with it, and he thinks it’s kind of steamingly hot how everyone seems to want a piece of Chan and he’s still the one halfway in his lap. The thought also makes him tingle. 

Every so often Chan will lean in, checking if Hyunjin’s still okay. It’s just another thing that’s wildly endearing, the care he manages to give in such an informal setting. Even though they’re not technically anything, Hyunjin feels special, and he’s starting to get used to the preferential treatment. 

When Jisung sees them he gives Hyunjin a look, and out of spite, Hyunjin pushes himself up against Chan’s arm, letting his lips brush against his ear when he whispers into it. 

“Do you think taking me to your room crosses any boundaries?” 

Chan leans back into him, “I think the implications of why you want me to take you to my room might.” 

Hyunjin pouts, wrapping his arms around Chan’s neck, “This is the worst. You’ve been an inch away from palming my ass all night and I have to sit here and take it with the knowledge that nothing more is going to happen.” 

“Here, I’ll stop,” Chan says, moving his hand. Hyunjin grabs his arm before he can get too far. 

“No, I want you to stay. We’ll stay out here, but I’m still gonna be mad about it.” 

“You know, you’re really not making this easy,” Chan tells him, shifting in his seat. 

Hyunjin sighs, wiggling until he’s fully sat in Chan’s lap, “I know, but nothing’s fun when it’s easy.” 

Chan pinches his hip, “No matter what you pull, I’m not taking you anywhere else.” 

—-

Honestly, it’s more surprising that Chan and Hyunjin last as long as they do than it is that they end the night in Chan’s room again. At least, Hyunjin’s impressed with himself for keeping it together for as long as he did, though he’s sure others could argue he didn’t do that great of a job.

As Chan pushes a knee between his legs, he stops caring, focusing all of his energy on trying to undo his belt. 

Hyunjin has to pull away to look down at the damn thing, unable to figure it out without looking. Chan grabs his hands and pulls them up over his head, reattaching their lips and redirecting Hyunjin’s attention to that instead. Hyunjin whines into his mouth but allows it, stumbling towards the bed and flipping around so Chan lands on it. 

Chan groans when Hyunjin climbs on top of him, moving his head so he has better access to his neck. Hyunjin only lasts a couple of minutes before he’s reaching for his belt again, actually being able to undo it and toss it across the room this time. He goes to unbutton his pants but is stopped again by Chan. 

“Chan,” Hyunjin moans, “give me a second, needa get my pants off.” 

“Can’t,” Chan tells him, “Jinnie, clothes stay on.” 

Hyunjin sits up, taking his hands off immediately, “Huh?” 

“Jisung said he was uncomfortable with us sleeping together while I was still working with him. I’ll indulge you a little bit, but we probably shouldn’t go too far and upset him.” 

“Oh my god,” Hyunjin scoffs, slipping off Chan and flopping down next to him, “I’m being cock blocked by someone who’s not even here.” 

Chan flips onto his side, “I’ll still kiss you, just fully clothed. And you’ll have to learn how to keep your hands at least mostly to yourself.” 

“I’m wearing skin tight jeans that cover the same amount of skin as a bandana, my shirt’s half open, and you’ve been touching me all night. I say we tell Jisung to get over himself and do what we want.” 

“The thing is, I know you don’t mean that.” 

Hyunjin sighs, “I know you do.” 

“Can I kiss you anyway?” Chan asks, thumbing at Hyunjin’s lower lip, “You’ve kind of been driving me crazy all night.” 

“You want to lay here and make out? Like, only make out?” 

Chan nods, “Yeah. I think it’ll be fun.” 

“It won’t be,” Hyunjin glares, grabbing Chan’s belt loops to pull him closer, “but we can still do it.” Chan leans in, but Hyunjin stops him before their mouths make contact. 

“I just want you to know this is the first time I’m allowing someone to get all over this without getting all up in this, if you know what I mean.” Chan nods. “So know I really fucking like you and if you don’t treat me like a princess after this I’m gonna have Jeongin ruin your life.”

“I promise to treat you like a princess,” Chan murmurs against his lips, “and I’ll even let you take your pants off too.” 

Hyunjin pinches his neck and kisses him. 

—-

There’s almost a weird sense of humor in waking up in Chan’s bed a second time. Luckily, Hyunjin’s oddly okay with it, so instead of ditching as fast as he can, he ends up rolling out of bed quietly and going to the ensuite to do his business. 

When he steps out Chan moves like he’s waking up and Hyunjin hurries to slip back in bed with him, laying on his side and scooting back so his back is almost flush with Chan’s chest. 

He doesn’t move until he feels Chan yawn and stretch, wiggling like he’s also just waking up. Hyunjin flips around slowly, leaning back so Chan doesn’t get a face full of nasty morning breath. 

“Good morning,” Hyunjin yawns, “I feel like shit.” 

Chan huffs out a laugh, “Yeah, me too. Last night was fun though.

“Hm,” Hyunjin hums, sitting up, “which part?” 

“Would you believe me if I said the party?” 

“Considering we barely got past first base? Yes actually.” 

“If that wasn’t even second base for you I’m very interested in learning what is.” 

“Sorry, apparently I’m a born again virgin, abstinence is key you know? So good luck with everything else.” 

Chan rolls his eyes, “I’m sure you’ll find a reason to quit soon enough. Are you staying for breakfast this time?” 

Hyunjin flushes, “If you’ll have me. Do you have an extra toothbrush or some mouthwash or something? I feel gross.” 

“Yeah, under my sink. Let’s go find it.” 

The pair go and wash up a little bit, Hyunjin also borrowing a hair brush. Chan gives him a t-shirt and some basketball shorts as well, since he actually did end up in only his boxers the night before and didn’t want to squeeze back into the jeans from hell. 

Minho and Changbin are nowhere to be seen when they get to the kitchen, so Hyunjin doesn’t mind taking a seat on the counter while Chan cooks them breakfast. The whole set up is quite domestic for two people who aren’t actually dating, but it’s nice, and Hyunjin likes the aura of it.

While Chan’s finishing up the food Minho walks out, his expression brightening when he sees Hyunjin.

“Hey,” he grins, “you’re staying this time?” 

Hyunjin’s eyes widen and he rubs at his arm. Chan places a bowl onto the table loudly. 

“Come sit down and eat. If you talk I’m taking your portion to the kids next door.” 

Minho rolls his eyes, taking a seat, “As if, you love me too much.” 

Changbin walks out then, and promptly halts when he looks at who’s at the table, “Damn,” he says, “you’ve promoted to staying for breakfast?” 

“Uh, yeah,” Hyunjin nods, “I guess I have.” 

“Nice,” Changbin high fives him, pulling the chair Chan was going to sit on out so Chan falls, and settling down next to Minho, “Chan was all upset last time when you ran out. Usually I would’ve laughed but it was so pathetic I felt too bad.”

Hyunjin brings a hand up to his mouth to cover his smile as Chan throws a chopstick at Changbin's head.

“What the hell!” Changbin shouts, “That’s assault!” 

“Stop telling lies and I won’t have to take action.”

Minho tsks, “It’s really not a lie though,” he turns to face Hyunjin directly, “Changbin’s acting nice but he came into my room and laughed for so long he almost threw up, don’t be fooled by his kind facade.” 

Chan moves like he’s about to launch over the table, so Hyunjin grabs his shoulder, “I think it’s sweet,” he smiles, “it’s nice to know you cared as much as I did.” Chan gives a small smile back. 

The rest of their breakfast goes by in a similar fashion, with Minho and Changbin purposefully oversharing in hopes to embarrass Chan as much as possible. Pretty quickly, Hyunjin notices how much of their dynamic reflects the one he has with his own roommates. It almost makes him sad in a weird way, but watching the three of them interact is kind of heart warming. 

When Hyunjin leaves Minho and Changbin make it a point to say goodbye, which is nice, but also awkward when Chan goes in to kiss him and the pair make an appearance. 

“Bye Hyunjin,” Minho sings, “we can’t wait to see you again.”

Changbin leans in and wraps them both in a big hug, “I’m happy for you guys,” he sighs, squeezing them tight, “I can tell you’re going to be so good together, I’m so excited for us.”

Chan pushes him off, “For us? Like, including you?”

“Oh did I say us? I meant you,” Changbin giggles.

“Thank you, Changbin. You’ve been very welcoming today.” 

Changbin smiles cutely, shrugging his shoulders like it’s no big deal. Chan gives him a look, flicking his eyes back and forth from Hyunjin, to Changbin, to the hallway leading to the living room. A few moments pass with nothing happening, and it’s only when Hyunjin coughs awkwardly that Changbin notices anything. 

“Oh, should we go?”

Chan nods, tight lipped, “Yeah. Maybe give us a moment alone?”

Minho snorts, “Why?”

“For privacy.”

“Privacy? I thought the two of you were about to start stripping in the middle of the room by the way you were going at each other last night, but now you’re worried about privacy?”

Hyunjin squeaks and turns towards the door, not expecting Minho to be so crude, “I’ll just go,” he says diplomatically, “Thanks for having me over, I’ll see you guys soon.”

“But-”

“It’s fine, I’ll text you.” He throws a final smile over his shoulder and books it. The door shuts behind him and the sound of Chan scolding his friend filters out, but Hyunjin doesn’t pause to listen, basically running away in his clothes from the night before. 

Hyunjin walks home, not wanting to deal with the expense of a taxi, and also wanting to prolong his journey home. It’s not that he’s worried about seeing Jisung, it’s just that he’d rather walk for thirty minutes than get home in ten on the train, just preference. 

However, he does reach home at one point. As he trudges through the hallway to his door he steels himself, ready for any teasing or criticism his friends may dish out. He walks in slowly, hoping that they’re all still asleep. Unfortunately, they’re all on the couch, coffee mugs littering all flat surfaces. 

Jisung’s the first to see him, “Hey slut,” he yawns, “Have a good night?” 

“I did,” Hyunjin nods.

“Chan was nice?”

Hyunjin gives him a suspicious look, “He was. Made me breakfast this morning and everything.”

“Work,” Jisung sinks further into Felix’s chest, “You throw up again?” 

“No,” Hyunjin glares, “I wasn’t that drunk.”

Seungmin snorts, “You were sloppy dude, you wouldn’t stop kissing Jeongin’s cheek for like an hour.”

“Yeah, and it was all slobbery,” Jeongin shudders.

“Well I was mostly sober by the end of the night.” 

Felix scoffs, “We know, Jisung was pouring water down your throat. You made me go to the bathroom with you a million times because no one else would.”

Hyunjin throws his arms up, “Then blame Jisung. Not my fault I was overly hydrated.”

“Isn’t it?” Jeongin asks.

“What?” 

“It is,” Seungmin confirms, “Jisung said he wanted to sober you up in case you wanted to stay with Chan.” 

Hyunjin looks to Jisung, “Is that true?” Jisung shrugs. The rush of emotion Hyunjin’s filled with is too much for him to handle, so he throws himself on top of Jisung, cradling his head in his arms. 

“You’re so sweet Sungie,” He coos, squishing Jisung’s cheeks together, “I knew you loved me.”

Jisung bats his hands away, “Yeah well I didn’t want anything to go wrong,” he mutters, “Not like you can take care of yourself, you overgrown baby.” 

Hyunjin sighs wistfully and snuggles into him more, “I know you’re being mean because you’re embarrassed you did something nice for me but it’s just making me think you need kisses more.”

“I don’t,” Jisung whines, but doesn’t move when Hyunjin peppers kisses around his face, “You’re annoying.” 

“You’re both annoying,” Jeongin corrects him.

Hyunjin sits up, “You’re saying that like you need Jinnie kisses too,” he pouts, “is Innie feeling left out?” 

Jeongin pouts back, “Maybe.” 

It’s enough to make Hyunjin launch to the other side of the couch and grab his face, kissing Jeongin until he’s pushing him away. 

“Get off of me you big fat oaf!”

“I can’t,” Hyunjin cries, “my Innie needs kithes.” 

Seungmin scooches further away from them, “You literally asked for it, you can’t complain now.” 

“I forgot how disgusting Hyunjin is.”

“I take great offense to that.”

“You were kind of meant to,” Jeongin shrugs, “If you want to slobber all over someone go find Chan and do it to him.”

“If you all hate me so much maybe I will,” Hyunjin sniffs.

“The dramatics are far too much,” Seungmin gives him a disgusted look.

“It’s how I feel.”

“Feel less,” Jisung offers.

“You guys suck,” Hyunjin pouts.

“Ugh, fine,” Jeongin sighs deeply, leaning in and kissing Hyunjin’s cheek, falling dramatically against the back of the couch at the onslaught of kisses it brings on.

“I love you,” Hyunjin coos at him.

“Whatever.” Jeongin rolls his eyes, “I love you, too.” He mutters, quiet enough that Hyunjin has to strain his ears to hear him.

“You’re so cute,” He says seriously, attacking him with kisses once again.

\--

Tuesday comes and passes with Hyunjin stuck with his tutor and missing the chance to see Chan for longer than ten minutes over dinner. It’s disappointing, but not surprising with Hyunjin’s hectic schedule so he pushes it to the back of his mind and hopes he can see Chan on Thursday. 

Thursday comes and Hyunjin decides to dress nice for class, knowing when he gets home Chan will be in his living room and not wanting to see him look like a bum. When he walks out of his room Jisung looks very unimpressed.

“You know Chan’s not coming until later, right?”

“Wow, a brand new revelation,” Hyunjin rolls his eyes, grabbing a banana from the counter for breakfast, “Maybe I just wanted to look nice for my classes today.”

“You?” Felix snorts, “Yeah, right. Jeongin borderline hated you at first because you refused to wear anything but sweatpants to class.”

“I’ve changed,” Hyunjin shrugs, “And if I want to dress up for Chan, I’ll do that too.”

“Not until the projects over,” Jisung insists.

“Jisung,” Hyunjin starts calmly, “I’ve had great restraint following along with what you want and not sleeping with your project partner. Be proud of that instead of getting mad that I’m wearing jeans instead of athletic shorts.”

“You probably should have worn the athletic shorts,” Seungmin points out, walking out of his room, “They make your ass look great.”

“Thank you, but I’m fine with this,” Hyunjin grabs his backpack and slings it over his shoulder, walking to the door, “I’ll see you guys later.”

“Or not!” Seungmin calls after him, “Either is fine!”

-

Hyunjin’s day gets worse from there. It starts when he forgets he had homework to do in his statistics class, and even after fifteen minutes of begging, his professor refused to accept it late. Then, he was late to his second class, because of the groveling for his first one, and got scolded before he was allowed to leave.

He decided to take a nap during his two hour break, finding a quiet unused corner in the library and hunkering down, only to wake up forty five minutes after he was supposed to and effectively missing the entirety of his last class of the day.

So, Hyunjin’s day did not go as planned, which is why as soon as he gets home the only thing he’s focused on is making himself a cup of coffee, needing one to make him feel less crazy. He walks immediately to the kitchen, unintentionally ignoring Chan and Jisung on the couch for the first time since their whole project started.

Hyunjin grabs his cup and starts the machine maybe a little aggressively, tapping his foot and impatiently waiting for the coffee to come running out. He’s just putting it all together how he likes when someone comes into the kitchen.

“What are you doing?” Chan asks, crossing his arms and leaning against the door frame.

Hyunjin jumps, barely keeping himself from spilling milk from the jug in his hands, “Jesus, make some noise when you walk.”

“Sorry,” Chan chuckles, “I thought you heard me.”

“I’m sure you did,” Hyunjin scoffs, finishing topping off his coffee with cashew milk and turning to face Chan, “Did you need something?”

“No,” Chan shakes his head, walking to stand in front of Hyunjin, “I came to see you.”

“For what?” Hyunjin tilts his head.

“Hm, I don’t know,” Chan places his hands on either side of Hyunjin’s hips, caging him between the counter and himself, “You walked past without even saying hi.”

“I was trying to appease Jisung,” Hyunjin says, wrapping his arms around Chan’s neck, “Since it’s so important to you.” He cranes his head to the side, trying to see through the door frame and into the living room, “Where is he, by the way?”

“He had to go to the bathroom,” Chan explains, running his eyes down Hyunjin’s figure.

“Ah, so this is a secret meeting,” Hyunjin raises an eyebrow.

“It’s not secret,” Chan looks away briefly, “Just-”

“Just secret,” Hyunjin nods, “It’s okay, you can say it.”

“Not secret,” Chan denies vehemently, “Just private.”

“And why would this need to be a private meeting?” Hyunjin prods, trying to get Chan to admit what they both know.

“Well I’ve been wanting to do this since you ran out of my place on Sunday,” Chan leans forward, catching Hyunjin’s lips in a deep kiss before leaning away.

“That is a good reason,” Hyunjin murmurs.

“I know,” Chan muses, nosing along Hyunjin’s jawline, “I couldn’t stop thinking about you all week.”

“I’ve been told I can have that effect on people,” Hyunjin gasps as Chan presses a kiss right behind his ear.

“You’re surprisingly cocky for the guy that couldn’t talk to me without blushing a week ago,” Chan chuckles lowly, kissing further down Hyunjin’s neck.

“We don’t talk about that anymore,” Hyunjin breathes, redirecting Chan back up to his face, “I can’t believe you’re doing this to me and still abiding by Jisung’s dumb rule of keeping our clothes on.”

Chan laughs, pressing a light kiss to Hyunjin’s lips, “Would you rather we not touch at all? I can do that if that’s what you want.”

Hyunjin groans, “I hate you so bad right now.”

“I know you do baby,” Chan kisses him again, “I hate myself a little bit too.”

Hyunjin melts a little at Chan calling him baby, “God damnit, Chan,” He grunts, “Fucking kiss me for real already.”

Chan laughs but abides, splaying his large hands across Hyunjin’s lower back and pulling him in, pressing their chests flush and sealing their lips together. Hyunjin sighs into the kiss, opening his mouth easily to let Chan deepen it. They stand there, stealing some time together in their own little bubble for just a moment.

Until it’s ruined by someone’s obnoxious slow clapping. Chan stops immediately, ignoring Hyunjin’s whining and trying to pull him back when he steps away. Hyunjin looks past Chan’s shoulder, glaring as harshly as he can at Jeongin’s amused figure standing on the other side of the counter. “What?”

“This is all very entertaining,” Jeongin motions to them, “The sneaking around, the actually not being able to be alone in the same room without making out, blah blah blah. But this is a communal area.”

“We’re not sneaking around.”

“Oh? What would you call hiding from Jisung in the kitchen?”

“You’re such an ass sometimes, Innie,” Hyunjin shakes his head.

“Thank you,” He grins, “Now move. You’re not the only one in this house that likes coffee.”

Hyunjin makes a face at him, looking back at Chan, “I’m pretty sure Jisung’s done anyways,” Chan grins ruefully, “I should go back.”

“Oh,” Hyunjin pouts, “Okay. I’ll see you at dinner then, I guess.”

“You will,” Chan promises him, pecking him lightly before walking out of the kitchen, having to awkwardly squeeze around Jeongin when he refuses to move from his spot.

“Nice,” Jeongin comments once he’s gone.

“What?” Hyunjin asks defensively.

“Nothing,” Jeongin raises both hands up, “I just said nice.”

“You’re annoying,” Hyunjin glares, pushing past him to leave and resolutely ignoring Jeongin’s cackling as he goes past.

\---

To hopefully offset any negative repercussions, Hyunjin stays locked up in his room until it’s time to eat. It’s also a great way to keep his hands off the one person in his house that he can’t touch, and he finds himself somewhat enjoying the time to cool down. 

Being at the table is a whole other ball game. Jeongin purposefully sits in between Chan and Hyunjin, and he spends the entirety of dinner sneaking looks between them. The whole situation is awful, and it’s made worse by the fact that Jeongin’s the one with all the power.

Oblivious to what’s going on, Felix asks about Chan and Jisung’s progress on their project, leaving Hyunjin to deal with Jeongin’s looks on his own. He spends a few minutes trying to stomp on Jeongin’s foot, cursing him in his head every time he jerks away at the last moment. Hyunjin finally makes impact just as Jisung tells the table their project is due on Monday, and this is the last time Chan will be coming over for studying purposes. 

“What?” Hyunjin gapes, his loud voice covering up Jeongin’s screech of pain. 

“Smooth,” Seungmin mutters, rolling his eyes in Hyunjin’s direction. 

Chan smiles, “We’re just finishing up some loose ends tonight and separately this weekend and then we’re done. No more project.” 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” 

“I was _going_ to, but I didn’t see you for long on Tuesday, and today you just walked right past us. I didn’t have the chance.”

“Not like he could’ve told you when you were in the kitchen doing your thing,” Jeongin says. Hyunjin jabs his waist. 

“You could’ve texted me.”

Chan shrugs, “I wanted to tell you in person.”

“Eugh,” Jisung shudders, “This is like, disgusting to watch.” 

Hyunjin ignores him, “So Monday?”

“Monday.” 

“I’m really going to throw up,” Seungmin cuts in, “Can you finish whatever this is so we can eat peacefully?”

Chan jolts back, settling further in his seat, “Of course. We’re done, let’s eat.”

By the end of dinner everyone has complained at least once about the stolen glances between them. Noting how gross it is that they’re all trying to eat together and they can’t keep their eyes off of each other. Needless to say, when Hyunjin goes to walk Chan out no one argues. Or joins them.

\---

On Monday, Hyunjin floats around in a blissful daze, knowing that by the end of the day his Chan ban would officially be over. He almost expects a mariachi to pop out from behind a bush or something to celebrate the occasion, but when he gets to lunch without being bombarded he figures it’s not going to happen. Honestly a shame. 

Luckily, Hyunjin gets to have lunch with all of his roommates since their schedules line up, and as he takes his food out of his bag he can’t keep the smile off his face.

“What are you so happy about?” Seungmin grunts, “The weather is shit.” 

Hyunjin sighs wistfully, picking at his food, “Maybe, but the world can still be beautiful even if it’s a little grey today.” 

“Stop,” Jisung says, making a face, “you’re being weird on purpose.” 

Felix nudges him, “Let him be happy. You basically turned him into a virgin again and now his celibacy can finally end. Anyone would be excited.” 

Two people slam down on either side of Hyunjin, startling him enough he almost drops his food.

“Hyunjin’s a virgin?” Changbin asks, rifling through his bag, “That’s chill.” 

“Please find better descriptive words when talking about such subjects. I mean really,” Minho looks at Hyunjin and rolls his eyes, turning to address the rest of the table.

“Hey guys,” he wiggles his fingers in a little wave, “I’m Minho and that’s Changbin. We’re Chan’s roommates.” 

Seungmin perks up, interested, “Chan’s roommates? That sounds fun.” 

Changbin snorts, “Yeah, if you can get used to how lame he is,” he finally looks up and makes eye contact with Seungmin, hesitating for just a moment before puffing his chest out. “I’m Changbin.” 

“I know,” Seungmin points his chin towards Minho, “Your friend just told us.” 

Changbin flushes bright red, going to respond but being interrupted by Chan pulling him to the side and sliding into his spot.

“Hey,” He breaths, smiling at Hyunjin.

Hyunjin smiles back, giddy, “Hey.” 

“Hey Chan,” Jeongin says, tilting his head so he can see their newest addition, “It’s weird seeing you not in my house and not attached to Hyunjin at the mouth.” 

“It’s nice seeing you Jeongin,” Chan smiles politely, “It’s always a better day when you’re around.” 

The table erupts into a calm sort of chaos, with everyone introducing themselves and getting to know one another. Changbin seems to be somewhat unexpectedly infatuated with Seungmin, launching into a private conversation with him almost immediately. With everyone thoroughly distracted, Chan’s able to lean closer to Hyunjin without being teased for once.

“Hey,” he whispers again, “it’s good to see you this fine Monday, after my composing project has officially been turned in, which I just so happen to have completed with one of your roommates.” 

Hyunjin tilts his head, allowing his hair to fall forward and cover his face from the side, “Hm it is nice. I wonder why it’s so nice though.” 

“You can’t think of anything?”

“Nope, nothing.” 

Chan shakes his head, smiling, “Will you go on a date with me this weekend?” 

Hyunjin has to bite his cheek to stop from grinning too wide, “Why I’d love to. What should I expect?”

“Dinner?” Hyunjin nods after a moment’s hesitation, “Picnic?” Hyunjin nods stronger this time, “I’ll pick you up around seven on Saturday?” 

“You know what,” Hyunjin says, “that sounds perfect.” 

Chan hums, “I’m glad. Can’t have anything less than perfect for you.” 

“What are you two up to over there?” Felix asks from across the table, “You look like you’re plotting something.” 

Hyunjin squeezes Chan’s thigh to stop him from talking, “We’re not doing anything, just talking about the weather.” 

“I’m sure,” Felix raises an eyebrow, “Because that’s not suspicious at all.” 

“What’s suspicious?” Jisung asks. 

“Nothing,” Hyunjin replies with an innocent smile, “we were just talking about the weather.” Jisung gives them a weird look, but turns to continue talking to Minho. 

Chan squeezes the hand resting on his leg, looking straight ahead. Hyunjin spends the rest of lunch picking at his food with his left hand.

\---

Hyunjin doesn’t tell his friends about his plans until everyone gets home that night, a survival tactic he’s adopted after having many secrets shouted out in the middle of various public settings. 

They react pretty much exactly as expected. “Does that mean you’ll be less weird around him now?” Seungmin asks.

“That was fast,” Jisung says snootily, raising his eyebrows.

“Was it?”

“Do you want to wear my pants again?” Jeongin offers.

“I think I’m good, but thanks.”

“Your loss.”

“I think it’s great,” Felix says, giving each of their roommates a pointed look, “I know you really like him.”

“I do,” Hyunjin grins to himself.

“Gag,” Jisung mutters, “If you want to borrow something to wear you can.”

“You’re so sweet,” Hyunjin pouts at him.

“You’re so lame,” Jisung rolls his eyes, walking off to his room.

“You should let me put some of my jewlery on you,” Seungmin looks him up and down, “I have some that I think would look really good. Well, depending on what you wear.”

“You can help me pick an outfit,” Hyunjin tells him.

“Can I help too?” Jeongin asks, bouncing on his toes.

“Sure,” Hyunjin shrugs, “but nothing like those jeans.”

“Boring,” Jeongin frowns at him.

“We’re going on a picnic, not to a club.” Hyunjin points out.

“A picnic?” Seungmin brightens up, “That’s so cute! Where are you having it?”

“The park next to campus probably.”

Seungmin hums in response, “That’s nice.”

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Hyunjin scrunches up his face.

“Like what?” Seungmin tilts his head innocently.

“Like you’re planning something.”

“What would I be planning, Hyunjin?” Seungmin asks, exasperated.

“I don’t know,” Hyunjin gives him a distrustful look, “but whatever it is I’m sure it’s just gonna piss me off.”

“There’s nothing going on,” Seungmin waves him off, “You just think the worst of me.”

\---

secret roomies (4)

minnie: boys, we’ve got plans for saturday at 7  
minnie: mark your calendars

innie: what are we doing

sungie: and wheres hyunjin

minnie: so i was texting changbin

innie: werk

lixie: woah  
lixie: like chan’s roommate changbin?

minnie: yeah lol  
minnie: anyways  
minnie: i was texting changbin  
minnie: and he told me that he overheard hyunjin talking with chan about their picnic date  
minnie: it’s on saturday at seven  
minnie: and we’re going to spy

sungie: immediately no  
sungie: immediately no

innie: i say yes

lixie: i’m gonna have to agree with jisung on this one  
lixie: hyunjins gonna be pissed

minnie: so not no because you don’t want to

sungie: we’re not going to invade our friends date because you’re nosy and need to know everything

minnie: come on sung  
minnie: don’t be lame

sungie: the answer is no  
sungie: we’re not going

\---

“If you elbow me one more time I swear to God I’ll kill you,” Jisung hisses at Jeongin.

“Seungmin’s hogging the only spot we can look through,” Jeongin whines, “Make him move.”

“It was my plan, I have dibs.” 

Jeongin shoves him, “It’s been ten minutes, you’re just being selfish.” 

“That’s enough,” Felix pushes his way in between them, “you two are going to blow our cover because you’re acting like little kids, grow up.” 

“Tell him to grow up,” Jeongin mutters.

“What was that?” 

“Nothing.”

“Yeah, I thought so.” 

\---

“Do you know your roommates are behind that bush?” Chan asks, motioning behind Hyunjin.

Hyunjin sighs, “Yeah, yours are over there.” He gestures to a bench where two men are wearing baseball caps and face masks. Changbin’s shirt seems to be from a sports team, because it has his name on the back.

“It was probably naive to think this could’ve gone smoothly, huh?”

“Yeah. Should we let them know we know they’re there or should we be nasty to annoy them?”

Chan thinks for a moment, “Hm, let’s be as gross as possible.” He grabs a strawberry and holds it up to Hyunjin’s mouth, “Here.” 

Hyunjin wraps his lips around it slowly, making eye contact with Chan the whole time, even as he sits back, “Thank you.” Chan closes his eyes for a moment and takes a deep breath. 

“No problem.”

\---

“Oh my god,” Seungmin gags, “They’re so fucking sleazy.” 

“Who knew Hyunjin was so quick to get it in there?” Jeongin says, leaning away from the hole in the bush. 

Felix gives him a look, “He tried to sleep with Chan a week after he met him. Then again a week after that. It’s been pretty obvious.” 

“Guys,” Jisung interrupts, pointing across the lawn, “Those guys over there are, like, staring at them.”

“What the hell,” Jeongin mutters, “you think they’re muggers?”

“Or voyeurs,” Seungmin scoffs, “it’s not like they’re being discrete.”

“Should we do something?” 

“No, Just keep an eye on them,” Felix says, “We don’t want to create problems where there are none.” 

Jisung nods, “Right. It’s probably nothing.” 

\---

“I’m going to lay on you,” Hyunjin tells Chan, “Is that okay?”

“Yeah, that’s good. Come lay in between my legs.” Hyunjin does, curling up so his head is resting on Chan’s chest. 

Chan runs a hand up and down his side, “What’s up with your roommates?” he asks, “How did so many of you guys end up living together?” 

“Oh, well, Seungmin and I were friends in middle school when Jisung transferred in. Since he studied in Malaysia for a little bit Seungmin was assigned to be his buddy so it was easier for him to adjust. Then Felix ended up transferring and we adopted him because his Korean sucked and Seungmin felt bad.”

“And Jeongin?”

“I did a project with him for an art class in high school. He was pretty cute so we kept him even though he’s a year younger. When we all got accepted to the same school Jeongin really got serious about his grades so he could join us, and then he filed some kind of paperwork that said I was his brother so he could live with us instead of in the dorms.”

“That worked?”

Hyunjin snorts, “No. I forced him to live in the dorms for his first semester, the kid was way too cocky and I thought it would humble him. But he ended up flooding the laundry room twice and got evicted, so he moved in with us.” 

Chan gives him a look, “The way he acts is humbled?” 

“God no. Originally we were going to make him room with Seungmin, since they’re the youngest, but Felix and Jisung both said they were lonely sleeping alone so they moved in together instead. Getting his own room blew up his head again.” 

“It seems like you guys are really close.”

Hyunjin pauses, “We are. But I’m sure you’re close with your roommates too.” 

“Yeah, I am,” Chan says.

“How’d you all end up together?” 

“It’s kind of a boring story. Minho and I were roommates freshman year, and when we had the option to move out of the dorms and get our own place we took it, but since we wanted a bigger place we put an ad up in the quad for another roommate. Changbin ended up messaging me and telling me that he was looking for people to live in one of his family homes with him, so we moved in. It ended up making us super close because Changbin was like a newborn baby, he’d never had to do anything on his own so we had to teach him all the basics. It was fun, but sometimes he still acts like Minho and I are his dads who are at his disposal whenever he wants.”

“You’re so sweet,” Hyunjin sighs, “It’s why I couldn’t stay away from you at first.” 

“Really? I thought it was because I was the most attractive man you’d ever seen.” 

Hyunjin pushes his shoulder into Chan’s stomach, “I meant when we actually started talking. You were really nice to me even though I acted like a weirdo.” 

Chan hums, “You were pretty weird.”

“Nevermind,” Hyunjin sighs, sitting up, “you’re a jerk. I hate you.” 

Chan laughs, pulling Hyunjin closer, “C’mere,” he says, guiding their mouths together. Chan’s lips are soft, like he just put on lip balm even though Hyunjin knows he didn’t, and he tastes like the strawberries they were feeding each other. It’s the first time they’ve kissed without all the restrictions from Jisung, and the thought of where it could go makes Hyunjin flush. 

“That was nice,” Hyunjin whispers as they pull away. 

Chan’s smile drops, and his eyes track something behind them.

“What are they doing now.”

\---

“Ew,” Felix grumbles, “is it even legal for them to get all cuddly like that in public? There are other people around.”

“I don’t know how to tell you this, but we’re the only people here,” Seungmin points out.

Jisung squints, “Besides those other guys.”

Jeongin rolls his eyes, “You’re so paranoid. It’s a public park, they’re probably just trying to relax.”

“They just took a picture.”

“What?”

“One of the guys just took a picture, look!” Three heads snap over to see one of the men’s phones held up. 

“Holy shit,” Seungmin breathes, “what do we do?” 

Felix stands, “We should go talk to them.” 

“Talk to them? What if they kill us?” Jeongin squeaks. 

“We have to do something,” Jisung scolds, “we’ll just walk over and ask what’s up. No harm no foul.”

Felix leads the groups, walking in a circle around Hyunjin and Chan so the chances of them getting caught were minimized. When they walk up to the pair his hands shake, but he stays firm.

“Hey,” Felix calls, “what the fuck are you two doing.”

“I thought we were supposed to be chill,” Jeongin whispers.

The first man jolts, turning to see who was suddenly yelling. He pulls his mask down and takes off his hat. 

“Felix?”

“Changbin?” 

The second man takes his cover ups off too.

“Minho?”

“Hey guys,” Minho chirps, “what are you doing here.” 

Jisung sputters, “Us? What are you doing here?”

“We’re spying on Chan.”

“Well we’re spying on Hyunjin.”

Changbin looks them up and down, “With no disguise?” 

“Your disguise sucks,” Chan calls as he walks up to them, Hyunjin trailing behind, “your shirt has your name on it Binnie.” 

“Oh hey Hyunjin,” Seungmin giggles nervously, “what are you guys doing here?” 

Hyunjin shakes his head, “All four of you were hiding behind one bush. I know you’ve been spying on us.”

“Us?” Jeongin gasps, “We would never.” 

“I told you guys to be cool,” Chan glares at his roommates, “this is the opposite of cool.” 

“I don’t know, we’re like spies, and that’s pretty cool,” Minho tells him.

“You’re only like spies if all spies sucked at their jobs and were as obvious as possible. You’re flash was on, idiot.” 

Minho looks down at his phone, “Damn it.” 

“It’s whatever,” Hyunjin sighs, “since you’re all here do you want to come hang out?” 

“We wouldn’t want to intrude,” Jisung smiles. Hyunjin stares at him blankly. 

“You’ve been staring at us for the past thirty minutes. I think you’re past intruding.”

“Do you have extra food?” Jeongin asks, “I’m starving.” 

Hyunjin rolls his eyes, “We can share what’s there. But if you ever pull this shit again I’m going to beat all of your asses individually.” 

“Noted.”

The group all settle down on and around the blanket, one small one not being enough for eight grown men. Hyunjin’s annoyed but not super surprised. Doing anything alone when you live with four of the nosiest people on the planet was nearly impossible, and he should’ve realized this when he told them what their plans were in the first place.

Jeongin reaches for a strawberry, popping it in his mouth with no shame, “So, how was your date?”

“Shouldn’t you know?” Hyunjin asks sarcastically, “You’ve been here the whole time.”

“It was great,” Chan places a hand on Hyunjin’s thigh to placate him.

“You know, we almost beat the shit out of you guys,” Seungmin tells Changbin.

“Seungmin,” Jisung hisses.

“What did we do?” Changbin asks, startled.

“We thought you were creeps stalking Hyunjin and Chan,” Jeongin admits, munching on some chips from the basket, “So we went to go take care of you.”

“So the disguises did work!” Changbin shouts victoriously.

“I think it’s more that they don’t know you enough to pick you out in a crowd.” Chan tries to let him down gently.

“That’s not true,” Changbin shakes his head, “I’ve been texting Seungmin. He knows me.”

“Okay, but we haven’t really seen each other? Like, sure I could pick you out of a line up but I can’t tell who someone is by the shape of their hand,” Seungmin laughs.

“Our disguises were impeccable,” Minho turns his nose up at them.

“Sure they were,” Felix smiles politely.

“They were,” Changbin insists.

“They weren’t,” Chan stops him, “but that’s okay. You tried your best and that’s great.”

“You could only tell it was us because we live together.” Minho says.

“Actually, Hyunjin’s the one who pointed you out.”

“No he wasn’t,” Minho denies quickly.

“Okay.”

“Anyways,” Felix leans forward, grabbing a tupperware container from the basket, “Let’s eat. Squatting all day really takes a toll on you.”

“Then you shouldn’t have done it.” Hyunjin mumbles.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

\---

**_Monday_**

roomies (5)

jinnie: can someone tell felix i won’t be home for din din  
jinnie: im gna get smth w chani & some of his older friends

lixie: okay! ty for letting me know!!

jinnie: np :) <3

**_Tuesday_**

roomies (5)

jinnie: hey i’ll be home late today, i have a meeting w my ta after tutoring  
jinnie: will y’all save me smth to eat?

innie: iggggggg  
innie: are you failing a class again?

jinnie: no, just getting some help on a paper. luv u

minnie: gross  
minnie: love u 2

**_Wednesday_**

roomies (5) 

jinnie: wont be @ lunch  
jinnie: going to office hours for psych ://

sungie: okay  
sungie: have you been okay?

jinnie: yeah?  
jinnie: you?

sungie: yeah  
sungie: you’ve just been skipping meals  
sungie: and not home a lot  
sungie: which is fine!  
sungie: not the skipping meals part, but the not being home part  
sungie: i just wanted to check in

jinnie: oh, i’m fine !!  
jinnie: i’ve been eating when i can, just super busy w a couple classes :/  
jinnie: but hopefully things get better soon :))

lixie: okie dokie  
lixie: just know you can tell us if anything’s wrong. 

Hyunjin sighs, leaning against Chan and popping a blueberry into his mouth, “I kind of feel bad,” he says, chewing.

“Why?”

“I think they’re starting to think I’m not at meal times on purpose.”

Chan hums, flipping a page in the book he’s reading, “Do you want to tell them?”

“Tell them?” Hyunjin snorts, “Because the last time I told them anything it worked out so well? No, I’ll just go home for dinner tonight and hopefully that'll placate them.”

“Tonight?” Chan looks over at him, closing the book and setting it down, “Actually, Changbin and Minho are going to stay with Changbin’s parents tonight for their anniversary. I told them I couldn’t go because I had a test, but I was planning on asking you to come over.”

Hyunjin lifts an eyebrow, “Come over to an empty house? Just what are you trying to imply?”

Chan pulls him into his lap, “I’m sure you can figure it out.” 

“Yeah,” Hyunjin can’t look away from his lips, “I think so too.” Chan kisses him, and just like that, the decision is made. 

roomies (5)

jinnie: won’t be able to make it to dinner :(( finishing a lab

\---

“Something’s wrong,” Seungmin sighs, pushing his food around, “Hyunjin’s acting super weird.” 

Felix rubs his back, “I’m sure he’s fine, he said he’s just busy.” 

“There’s no way,” Jeongin shakes his head, “he loves eating with everyone, he always gets weird when we can’t for too long. Something else is going on.” At that moment, all of their phones chime with a message in their group chat.

“I’m gonna stay with Sanha tonight, be home tomorrow after class,” Jisung reads out.

“Did someone do something to piss him off?” 

“Nope,” Seungmin pops. 

Felix shovels more food on everyone’s plate, “It’s fine, he’s just busy. Things will calm down soon.” 

“Yeah,” Seungmin mutters, “I’m sure.” 

\---

Hyunjin doesn’t see his friends again until lunch the next day. He’s in a peppy mood, texting Chan about his plans for the rest of the day as he sits down. 

It takes a minute for him to realize how quiet the table gets, and by the time he notices everyone’s staring at him. 

“What?” 

“Nothing,” Jisung says, “you just haven’t been around much this week.” 

“Oh yeah, I’ve been busy. I’ve missed you guys,” he pouts, pocketing his phone for the time being. 

Seungmin pushes a cookie towards him, “Here, we got cookies from that one bakery after dinner last night and we saved you one.” 

“Aw, you guys went without me?”

“Well you weren’t home,” Jeongin tells him, “and we didn’t know if you would be anytime soon so we just went. But at least we got you one.”

Hyunjin gives him a weird look, nibbling on his treat, “You good bud?” 

“I’m good, just tired,” Jeongin assures him. Hyunjin’s inclined to believe him based on the dark circles under his eyes. It makes him feel guilty for a second, makes him think of how long they might have been there without him noticing. 

“Have you not been sleeping well?”

“I’m fine,” Jeongin promises, “just busy.” The phrase makes Hyunjin bristle, unsure if he’s using it to be snarky or if he’s genuine. 

“Well I hope you feel better soon,” Hyunjin smiles, tight lipped. He pulls his phone out again, texting Chan and scrolling through Twitter, letting the rest of the table talk around him. The knowledge that he’s annoyed for no reason keeps him from engaging in the conversation going on around him. Instead, he keeps busy making plans for his weekend. 

chan ((<3))

hyun: hey  
hyun: this art thing is going on downtown on sat  
hyun: go w me?

chanchan: omg  
chanchan: You asking Me on a date????  
chanchan: did the world turn inside out???

hyun: ha ha  
hyun: i’ll take that as a no

chanchan: you know i want to

hyun: i’ll just go alone  
hyun: maybe find a man who knows how to treat me Right

chanchan: ok have fun

hyun: >://

chan: im just kidding babe  
chan: i’d be v happy to go w u

hyun: as you should be  
hyun: give me a sec smths happening

Hyunjin’s pulled out of his conversation by an argument erupting at the table. Jeongin’s reaching over the table, trying to grab at Felix’s shirt and being held back by Jisung. 

“What the hell is going on?” Hyunjin demands. 

Seungmin rolls his eyes, “Jeongin said he wanted to put Whip It on the watch list for Saturday and Felix said he didn’t want to because the plot line is tired and unoriginal.” 

“Drew Berrymore put her heart and soul into that movie,” Jeongin spits, “it’s quintessential viewing for anyone coming of age. Felix is just mad that no one wants to watch Tangled for the millionth time.” 

“You’re of age,” Felix says snootily, “I think the time for you to watch it has passed.” 

“What’s happening Saturday?” Hyunjin asks. 

“Oh, we’re having a movie day since everyone’s had kind of a stressful week.” Jisung tells him. 

“We are? This Saturday?” Hyunjin tries to clarify, thinking of an excuse to get out of it. 

Seungmin looks around the table nervously, “Well we were going to, but of course you’re welcome to join.” 

“Was I not originally invited?” 

“It’s not that,” Felix explains, “but you’ve been avoiding being around us for whatever reason and we didn’t want you to feel pressured into spending a whole day with us.” 

“I haven’t been avoiding you, I’ve been busy,” Hyunjin huffs. 

“Right,” Seungmin nods, “you’ve been super busy.” 

Hyunjin sits back, crossing his arms, “What is with the attitude?” 

“Dude, you haven’t been busy,” Jisung scoffs, “You went to go get dinner with Chani the day after he posted about going home for a week. Then you went to ‘office hours’ when your psych prof doesn’t allow them until after five. And last night you stayed with Sanha? Sanha was out drinking all night with Chenle, it was all over Snapchat.” 

Hyunjin balks, unsure of what to say now that all his lies were laid out in front of him. Rather than explain or ask for forgiveness, he gets defensive. 

“I’m allowed to have alone time.” 

“Hyunjin, no one said you weren’t,” Jeongin groans, exasperated. “we’re not trying to force you into telling us anything. You asked why we didn’t invite you and we told you. Chill dude.” 

“Well I’ll be there on Saturday,” Hyunjin sniffs, texting Chan to cancel their plans, “Since I’m not busy anymore.”

\---

Saturday is spent almost exclusively inside. After spending all week with Chan, Hyunjin’s actually glad to spend time with his roommates again, since he really had missed them. Although none of them bring up his mistruths after lunch on Thursday, the feeling of guilt lingers, especially so when they’re all laying together like usual.

It comes to a head in the middle of Whip It (Jeongin had gotten his way after all, not that anyone was surprised) when Ellen Page’s life is in the middle of falling apart and the only hope she has is her chosen family. 

“I lied,” Hyunjin blurts, “about where I was this week.” 

Felix pauses the movie, turning as best as he can with Seungmin sprawled across his chest, “Yeah. Did you want to talk about why?” 

“I’ve been going out with Chan.” Hyunjin mumbles, staring at the ground. 

Jeongin’s mouth drops, “You should’ve told us!” He almost shouts, “That’s something we want to know!”

“Lower your voice,” Jisung hisses, swiping at him, “he probably didn’t tell us because you and Seungmin went to go spy on them last time.”

“You went too.” 

“Against my will,” Jisung huffs, “now I don’t get to know what’s going on. This is why you shouldn’t give in to peer pressure.” 

Hyunjin reaches out a hand for him to hold, “It’s fine. We’ve been out all week so I’ll start telling you guys again. Our dates are now open for you to ruin.” 

“Thank God,” Seungmin sighs, grabbing the remote and playing the movie, “shit was starting to get boring around here.”

\---

The house erupts into pandemonium the next day. From what Hyunjin’s been told, after the group dispersed the night before, Changbin and Seungmin were texting when Seungmin brought up their big Sunday dinners and invited him and his roommates. However, Seungmin didn’t tell Felix until he was starting the food, apparently far too late if the yelling was anything to go by. 

“I was being nice,” Seungmin shouts, “You’re always telling me to be more nice!”

“Be nice to us, not to someone you’ve been talking to for four days! How am I supposed to make three more portions magically appear in the next five minutes?” Felix slams a hand onto the counter, the other resting on his hip in his perfected disappointed parent stance. 

Jisung steps in, placing a hand on Felix’s shoulder, “Let’s calm down. How about Seungmin and I go get some groceries, and you can have another twenty minutes to rest.”

Felix glares, “Yeah, why don’t you two go do that. I’ll just sit here and do all the housework like usual.”

Seungmin rolls his eyes and storms off, yanking his shoes on and walking out of the front door. Jisung gives Felix a disappointed look and follows. 

“Whatever,” Felix huffs, turning to where Hyunjin and Jeongin are standing, “go clean your rooms.” 

“Why?”

“Because we have guests coming over and I want them to think twenty year olds who can pick up after themselves live here instead of the teenagers I have to clean up after.”

Hyunjin’s eyebrows furrow, “Are we having dinner in my room?” 

“You’re sure no one’s going to end up in your room?” 

“Tea.” 

Felix points at the door to his left, “You’re cleaning Seungmin’s room too, he won’t have enough time when he gets back.”

“What? How is that fair?” 

“It’s your fault this is happening,” Felix tells him, picking up the shoes at the front door and organizing them. 

Hyunjin points at himself, “Me?” 

“Yes, you. If you had left Chan alone we would’ve never met Changbin and this wouldn’t be happening.” 

“I agree,” Jeongin chimes in, “now you have to help out.” 

“You’re only saying that because you don’t have to do it.” 

“Maybe I am,” he shrugs. 

“Don’t get too excited,” Felix grunts, “you’re in charge of picking up the living room and bathrooms.” 

Jeongin very nearly stamps his foot, “What?” He screeches.

“You’re the youngest, and you do the least on the day to day,” Felix tells him blankly, waving them both away, “Now go. You don’t have long before they get here.” 

Jeongin stomps into the bathroom in the perfect show of a teenager throwing a fit, and Hyunjin emulates the same energy when he complains under his breath the whole way to Seungmin’s room. Unfortunately for them, Felix doesn’t care, and he heads to his own room to make sure it’s clean, completely unbothered.

By the time Jisung and Seungmin get home the house is sparkling, and there are two cookies waiting for them with sorry :( written on a napkin. 

“It looks nice in here,” Seungmin tells them, munching on his cookie, “did Felix clean up?” 

“No, I did,” Jeongin tells them.

Jisung laughs, “Felix is gonna be mad when he finds out you’re trying to take credit for his work.”

“I did,” Jeongin insists, “and I did it all by myself.” 

“Okay,” Seungmin says, ruffling his hair and walking to go get Felix, “we’ll just ask Lix.” 

“Hyunjin, tell them!” Jeongin demands. 

Hyunjin shrugs, “I’m just vibin’ dude.”

Seungmin leans into the bedroom, “Is it true that Jeongin cleaned the living room?” 

“Yeah, I made him. Why?” 

“Oh shit, for real?” Seungmin sucks in a breath and leans back, “He actually did it.”

“Woah,” Jisung breathes, “dude it looks great in here!” He gives Jeongin a high five. 

Jeongin moves away from him, “Is it really that hard to believe?” 

“You never clean,” Hyunjin shrugs, “I wouldn’t have believed it either.” 

“You never clean,” Jeongin pouts, “I’m a great housemate.” 

Felix tsks as he walks to the kitchen, “If you’re so great come chop vegetables for dinner.” 

Jeongin huffs and puffs his entire way to help, and continues to every time Felix asks for help with a new task. He’s relatively easy to ignore after living with him for so long, so everyone else hunkers down in the living room to wait for their guests to arrive. 

Finally, in the middle of Seungmin’s story about how he got Jisung to agree to give him money for going to the store with him, there’s a knock at the door. Almost immediately, four pairs of eyes focus on Hyunjin.

“What?”

“Go get the door,” Jisung tells him. 

Hyunjin makes a face, “Why do I have to do it?”

“Because dumbass,” Jeongin calls from the kitchen, “it’s your boyfriend.”

“Seungmin’s the one who invited them. Make him go get the door.” 

“Bro,” Seungmin shakes his head, “that’s what they want you to think.”

“Who’s they?”

“Exactly.” 

“Hyunjin, go get the door,” Felix sighs, “they’ve been waiting for too long. They probably think we’re not home.” 

“How can they think we’re not home when it’s dinner time?”

“Go.”

“Whatever,” Hyunjin mutters, getting off the couch to go open the door, “I have to do everything around here. Go clean Seungmin’s room, go clean your room, go get the door. It’s always me.”

“You cleaned my room? You’re so nice dude, thank you.” 

Hyunjin ignores him and opens the door, pasting a smile on his face so he doesn’t get in trouble, “Hey guys! Welcome!” He steps out of the way so the trio can step inside and take off their shoes.

Minho’s first to finish, stepping in and looking around, “It’s nice in here for a bunch of college kids.”

“Felix decorated,” Chan tells him, “I said the same thing when I came over for the first time.” 

“Oh,” Changbin wiggles his eyebrows, “the first time?”

Chan gives him a look, “You know this is where Jisung and I would work on our project.” 

“I’m sure.”

“Anyway,” Hyunjin squeaks, leading them into the main room, “everyone’s in here.”

Changbin lights up when he sees Seungmin, even as Seungmin acts like he wasn’t staring at the doorway, waiting for them to walk in. “Hey.” He grins.

“Hey,” Seungmin says flippantly.

“Hey, Chan,” Jisung pipes up from his spot on the couch, “”Glad you guys could make it.”

“Thanks for inviting us,” Minho hands over a covered plate to Felix, “We brought cookies. Store bought, because they wouldn’t have been edible otherwise.”

“That’s so sweet,” Felix pitches his voice up in surprise.

“My mom told me I should never show up to someone’s house empty handed,” Minho shrugs, “These two don’t get it, but they’ve always been a little dumb, ya know?”

“Yeah,” Felix grins, eyes shining.

“Let’s eat now,” Jeongin hops off his seat, grabbing the plate of cookies and taking them to the kitchen, “I did a lot of manual labor today, and now I’m starving.”

Everyone follows him, leaving only Chan and Hyunjin in the living room.

“Hey,” Chan smiles, looking around before leaning up to kiss him. 

“Hey,” Hyunjin whispers, giddy.

“Hyunjin, get in here,” Felix calls, “we have guests.” Hyunjin rolls his eyes, but still grabs Chan’s hand to drag him along and sit by him. 

There’s a general rule they all follow whenever Felix decides they have to impress someone. One that keeps them from being as brazen as they would normally be at the dinner table, and is usually closely adhered to. For most of the night it’s the same, and dinner goes way smoother than Hyunjin was expecting. His friends are on their best behavior, everyone’s getting along well, and there’s a surprisingly little amount of awkwardness. 

They almost get all the way through dinner before Jeongin opens his big mouth and ruins the whole atmosphere. 

“So Chan,” he starts, “I heard you’ve been sneaking around with my big brother all week.” 

“We’re not brothers,” Hyunjin tells him, “stop associating yourself with me.” 

Chan smiles politely, “Yes, we’ve spent a lot of time together this week.” 

“I just think it’s funny that Hyunjin’s been going out with someone who didn’t even introduce himself to us,” Jeongin says to Seungmin, “don’t you think that’s funny?” 

“This is fun, but why am I sweating?” Changbin whispers to Minho. 

Felix rolls his eyes, “You’ve met Chan many times before, he was here for weeks with Jisung. Stop trying to scare him.” 

Jeongin frowns, “You’re no fun.” 

“Yeah,” Seungmin mutters, “fun ruiner.” 

“That’s me,” Felix sings under his breath, leaning closer to the pair so he can speak quietly, “and it’ll be me that stops cooking for you if you don’t reel in the attitude.” Jeongin pouts, moving away from him and tilting his shoulders so that they face the other way. 

“Anyways,” Jisung says, “school’s been ass since they upped the grade minimums huh?” 

Minho groans, “Dude it’s kicking my ass, I never have free time anymore.”

“Right? And Chan’s had like two exams in his composing class in the past two weeks.” Changbin whistles, “I’ve had to do my own laundry like three times.” 

“Wait, we had two exams?” Jisung turns to Chan, “When did that happen?” 

Hyunjin sinks into his seat as Chan flounders for an answer. It really doesn’t take long for someone to catch on. 

“Oh my God,” Minho scoffs, “you lied?” 

“I wouldn’t call it a lie,” Chan stammers, “I must’ve been mistaken.” 

“Dude, my mom was so excited to see you, I’m the one who had to tell her you weren’t coming. That’s so messed up,” Changbin shakes his head.

Felix glances between where Hyunjin’s flushed body is slowly getting more red and where Chan’s waving his hands around trying to come up with an explanation, and promptly bursts out laughing. Of course, it draws the table’s attention fairly quickly, and he spends at least a straight minute unable to speak and just waving between the couple. 

“What is wrong with you? Just spit it out,” Seungmin grumbles, unamused.

“Look at Hyunjin’s face,” Felix cackles, “he’s guilty as sin.” 

The attention turns to Hyunjin who’s eyes widen, “I haven’t done anything!”

Minho rolls his eyes, “Ugh. You two are so embarrassing.” 

“What? What’s going on?” Changbin asks, turning to face Chan.

Seungmin places a hand on his shoulder, “I’m pretty sure they tricked you guys into leaving so they could bone in your house.” 

Changbin gasps, “You missed my parent’s twenty-fifth anniversary so you could bone your boyfriend in our home? You couldn’t have just told us to leave for a night like a normal person?”

“Look,” Chan tries to explain, “new relationships can be really exciting. Sometimes you do dumb stuff.” 

“Is that the best you’ve got?” Jeongin raises an eyebrow, “It was Binnie boy’s twenty fifth birthday.” 

“It was his parents' anniversary,” Jisung corrects.

Jeongin waves him away, “I, for one, am very disappointed. What do you have to say for yourself Hyunjin?”

Hyunjin stands, grabbing Chan’s wristing and forcing him up, “Thank you all for ruining dinner. I’m so glad we could all enjoy a whole hour of you keeping it in before you started harassing me again. Unfortunately, Chan and I will be going into my room and pitching ourselves out of the window, please give us privacy during this time.” He yanks Chan towards his room, not stopping even as Felix apologizes through his giggles. 

“The food was great,” Chan smiles, stumbling along, “thank you so much.”

“You guys gonna be good in there? Or should we go to Changbin’s grandma’s again?” Jeongin calls after them. Hyunjin flips him off. 

\---

Hyunjin closes his door and flops on his bed. Despite the drama, he’s not actually that upset, it’s just kind of his brand to make a big deal out of things, and he’s always been loyal to his brand. He still plays it up for sympathy, and soon Chan is sitting next to him and rubbing his back, trying to make him feel better. 

“At least they were being funny?” He tries. 

“Were they?” Hyunjin throws back, “They’re annoying.” 

“Yeah,” Chan nods, “they are.”

Hyunjin rolls over to make more space, “Come lay with me, I wanna relax with you.” 

“Sure, but can I grab a pair of shorts? I don’t want to get in your bed with my jeans.” Hyunjin agrees easily, taking his phone out and sprawling across the bed to wait.

“Hey babe?” Chan calls, “Why do you have a pair of long ass sparkly boots?”

“Oh those,” Hyunjin sits up, “I wear them when I vacuum,” He shrugs.

“They’re pants.”

“They are not pants,” Hyunjin rolls his eyes, standing and walking to the closet to take said boots out of Chan’s hands, “They’re thigh highs,” He holds them up to his leg to model.

Chan’s face doesn’t change, “They’re basically pants.” 

“If we’re going to talk about ‘basically pants’, let’s talk about your ugly ass shorts you’re always wearing,” Hyunjin scoffs, “at least my boots are a statement, those are basically a felony.”

“What’s wrong with my shorts?”

Hyunjin pauses, “You can’t be serious.”

“I’m super serious.”

“Chan, your short hem is literally always at, or past, your knee. They’re like culottes.”

“What are culottes?” 

“They make your legs look all stumpy. Why do you think I asked if you wanted them hemmed the other day?”

Chan balks, “I thought you were asking because they were fraying at the bottom. How short did you make them?”

“Only up to like mid thigh,” Hyunjin assures, “I promise it’s for your benefit.”

“I think it’s for your benefit.” 

Before Hyunjin can respond, there’s a knock at the door, and then Jeongin’s voice.

“Chan, Minho said they’re leaving and if you want to get a ride home you’ve got to go now!”

“Damn it,” Chan swears under his breath, grabbing his pants and pulling the door open.

“Ew,” Jeongin scrunches his face up, “at least try to make it less obvious.” 

“Where is everyone?” Chan asks.

“Oh, yeah, they went to go get ice cream.”

Hyunjin pinches the bridge of his nose, “Then why did you tell us they were leaving.”

“I didn’t want to be alone.”

Chan sighs, but goes to sit on the couch, placing his jeans over the back of it, “Wanna watch Bob’s Burgers?”

The other two agree, sitting on either side of him. It’s surprisingly fun. When he’s not purposefully being annoying, Jeongin gets along really well with Chan, and it warms Hyunjin’s heart to see his man getting along with one of the most important people in his life. Once the others get back, they pass ice cream along to the three who stayed and squish onto the same couch to watch a couple episodes.

Sure, Seungmin pretends to get ice cream on Changbin’s cheek so he can lick it off, and of course everyone complains when Hyunjin lays on Chan’s chest halfway through the first season.

Maybe Minho ‘accidentally’ elbows Jisung a couple times when he gets too loud, and it’s honestly expected when Jeongin wiggles his way in between Felix and Jisung and hits almost everyone around him on his way, but to Hyunjin it feels like they’re building a bigger group, and there’s no words to explain how great that is.

\---

From then on it’s all of them all of the time.

Chan and his roommates are added to dinner and come over at least twice a week to eat with them. 

Changbin takes them all out on his family’s boat for a day, Jisung brings Changbin and Minho with him to the movies when his roommates are busy, Hyunjin gets invited to lunch with them, Jeongin and Seungmin spend an entire weekend at their house drinking and playing video games, and everytime Chan’s over he ends up hanging out with Felix and helping him with whatever he needs.

So, it’s a lot of them. Almost consistently, but there’s still always hyunjinandchan time. Attempts at least.

“Hey,” Jeongin sing songs, poking his head through Hyunjin’s bedroom door, “What are you guys up to?”

“What we were up to the last three times you’ve come in here, Jeongin,” Hyunjin sighs, rubbing his eyes.

“We were just wondering,” Seungmin pops his head in above Jeongin’s, pouting at them.

Chan runs a hand down Hyunjin’s nape soothingly, “Did you guys want to join us?”

“Oh,” Seungmin waves them off, “We couldn’t intrude.”

“Then leave us alone,” Hyunjin grumbles.

Chan pinches his hip, “You’re not intruding,” He assures them, “We’ll make space on the bed.”

“If you’re sure,” Jeongin chirps, running and jumping on the bed, both him and Seungmin carrying their own pillows.

“What are we watching?” Seungmin leans over Hyunjin to grab some popcorn.

“Bridget Jones,” Hyunjin side eyes him.

“What’s it about?”

“Basically, she gets cheated on and decides to turn her life around in some weird version of a revenge bod. So it’s about that.” Chan explains. 

“Oh.” Seungmin nods, “So what’s happened so far.”

“She just got a new job and is tanking. Bad.”

“It’s kinda predictable, no?” Jeongin joins in, munching on his own popcorn thoughtfully, “Like, she’s going to fall apart and then find a new love interest, that she probably hated at first because he was supes tsundere, and then end up with him after she decides she doesn’t care what anyone else thinks about her or her life.”

“Dude,” Chan chuckles, leaning over to high five Jeongin, “Have you seen this before?”

“No,” Jeongin shrugs proudly, “I’m just really good at guessing the ending of movies.”

“Like, too good,” Seungmin emphasizes, “He can guess the ending in the first thirty minutes of any movie.”

“Really?” Chan leans back, impressed.

“Yep,” Jeongin grins.

“It’s as annoying as it is cool,” Hyunjin pipes up, “I won’t sit next to him the first time I watch a movie anymore because he always ruins it for me.”

“It’s a talent and a curse,” Jeongin admits.

“How do you know?”

“It’s all in how they introduce the characters,” Jeongin explains, “And who plays them.”

“Like Jude Law,” Seungmin mentions.

“What about him?”

“He never plays a good guy. So if he’s in a movie, you can infer what role he’ll be playing.”

“Huh,” Chan appraises him, “You’re kind of really smart.”

Jeongin scoffs, “And that’s a surprise?”

Chan splutters for a moment. “Of course it is, Innie,” Hyunjin says, rolling his eyes, “He knows you.”

“Let’s not get into it,” Seungmin eyes them wearily.

“We can, if you want,” Jeongin smiles innocently.

“You have nothing on me.”

“We can talk about how you didn’t know what blu-ray meant for like three years and you couldn’t figure out why some movies would play on your dvd player and some wouldn’t.”

“Okay, let’s not.” Hyunjin laughs nervously.

“Or we can talk about how you didn’t even know you were taking world history until the last quarter of the year, or about how you didn’t notice Seungmin was in your class for an entire semester, or about-”

“Okay, that’s enough,” Hyunjin shouts, “Chan, make him leave.”

“I’m not gonna do that.”

“Yeah,” Seungmin sniffs, “Chan loves us.”

Hyinjin slants his eyes, “Fine,” He turns to Chan, leading his head down to slot their lips together, immediately tilting his head to make the kiss a little dirtier.

“Oh God,” Seungmin groans once he sees tongue, “Spare my innocent eyes.”

“Sorry, Min,” Hyunjin amps up his gasp, holding Chan to his collarbone to hide the elders laughter and also make it seem like they were going to continue, “This is how we watch movies together.”

“Then why invite us in?” Jeongin cries, grabbing his stuff and standing up from the bed.

“You practically forced yourselves in here.”

“You are _such_ an asshole,” Seungmin scowls, ripping his pillow off the bed and storming out, slamming the door behind.

“Good riddance,” Hyunjin mutters.

“Why would you do that?” Chan laughs at him.

“They’re annoying,” Hyunjin whines, “They were embarrassing me.”

“Nothing about you could be embarrassing to me.”

“You’re so sweet,” Hyunjin kisses him again.

“Our first meeting was embarrassing enough for you,” Chan expands, “Nothing could be worse than that.”

“I hate you,” Hyunjin tells him seriously, rolling out of his grasp. Chan tries to grab him back, telling him not to leave. “No, I never want to see you again.”

“You’re such a baby,” Chan says fondly, finally grabbing Hyunjin again and pulling him into him, “My baby.”

“Gross,” Hyunjin scrunches his nose at him.

“You’re gross,” Chan boops his nose.

“I’m going to go hang out with Seungmin and Jeongin instead,” Hyunjin tries to leave again.

“No,” Chan wraps around him tightly, “You can’t leave me. Just make them come back in here.”

Hyunjin pauses, “Do you actually want to hang out with them today?”

“I mean, yeah,” Chan shrugs, “If you want to. I like your friends.”

“I know you do,” Hyunjin shakes his hair out of his eyes dramatically, “but I just want to be with you today. I’ve missed you.”

“We saw each other yesterday.”

“For, like, two minutes,” Hyunjin pouts, “Sometimes I just need to curl up with my boyfriend and feel the love.”

“My baby,” Chan pulls him tight against him, “So cute. I missed you too.”

“I am cute, huh?”

“I take it back,” Chan bemoans, rolling away, “You’re not cute anymore.”

“You suck!” Hyunjin yells at Chan as he walks out of the room.

Chan pokes his head back in, “You love it.” He winks, turning to leave again.

“Ugh,” Hyunjin groans, biting his lip to hold back a grin, “I do.” He says to himself.

\---

_Two months later_

“I’m home,” Hyunjin calls, closing the door behind him, “when’s dinner?” He walks into the living room, startling when he sees Jisung on the couch with Chan right next to him. 

“Hey babe,” Chan stands to go kiss him, “how was your day?” 

Hyunjin squints, “It was good. What are you doing here?” 

“We’re studying for our final exam,” Jisung sighs, “can you please leave us alone?” 

“He’s my boyfriend now, Sungie, you can’t force me to stay away this time.” 

Chan laughs as he sits down, “Don’t worry man, I’m totally focused.” 

“Well I’m focused too,” Hyunjin says, going to sit on Chan’s lap, “What are we working on?” 

“No, go away.” Jisung glares. 

Hyunjin pouts, “Why? I just want to learn.” 

“It’s okay honey, I’ll teach you about it later,” Chan tells him, running a hand up and down his leg. 

“Nevermind,” Jisung groans, packing his stuff up, “I’m going to finish this in my room.” 

“No you’re not,” Felix says, walking out of the kitchen, “dinners ready.” 

There’s a rush of footsteps, and ten seconds later the table is full. Apparently, Changbin and Minho were lurking around because they show up for food as well. 

“How’s studying?” Minho asks. 

“It was going good, but then Hyunjin came home and ruined it.” Jisung complains. 

Hyunjin rolls his eyes, “I’m a pleasure to be around.”

“No you’re not,” Changbin tells him, “you’re annoying to be around.” 

“Aye,” Jisung crows, leaning over the table to give him a high five, “Binnie’s my new favorite.” 

“I’m your favorite,” Felix frowns. 

“Good Lord,” Jeongin grumbles, “you guys are so dramatic with that stuff.” 

“You’re only saying that because you’re everyone’s favorite,” Seungmin tells him, “your opinion’s invalid.” 

“You’re my favorite,” Changbin whispers to Seungmin. 

Minho’s face scrunches up, “Gross.” 

The banter continues for the rest of their meal. By now it’s easy to ignore them, and Hyunjin mostly watches from the side as they pick at each other, too tired to contribute. Once all the food’s gone, Felix sends him and Chan to go get ice cream from the freezer, a treat for all the hard work they’d put in for the semester. 

Hyunjin’s reaching for a box of popsicles when Chan saddles up behind him. 

“Hey,” he murmurs, “have an okay day?” 

“Yeah,” Hyunjin hums, “I’m just sleepy.” 

Chan turns him around to kiss him, “I love you.” 

“I love you,” Hyunjin parrots, smiling as their lips meet again. He takes a moment just to enjoy being with his boyfriend alone, relishing in his affection. It’s crazy to think that a quarter of a year ago Hyunjin could barely look at Chan, and now he’s coming home to him. But he wouldn’t change anything about their lives. 

“Hyunjin,” Jeongin yells, “hurry up! You’re gonna let all the ice cream melt and then I’m gonna ruin your life!” 

Hyunjin sighs. Maybe just one thing.

**Author's Note:**

> it's finally over! honestly, this was supposed to be like 10k at first, but obviously it really got away from me lol. if you liked it please leave a kudos and a comment, and if you really liked it you can feel free to talk to me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/IoveIyhyunnie)
> 
> also! my sister helped me write a bunch of this (probably around 6k) so i could get it done in time for a bday post so pls pls pls go check her out! she writes [twt au's](https://twitter.com/lcvietaeil) and fics on here both at: lcvietaeil
> 
> some more notes:  
> -yes dancing and crying to chiquitita is *that* theraputic, 100% suggest for anyone  
> -pls party and drink responsibly! look out for your friends and Do Not wander off in places filled w people you don't know!  
> -i've never been to a university (online community college ftw) so inaccuracies are probs there  
> -i've also only used public transit like twice in my life so if that stuff doesn't make sense,,, just pretend it does  
> -you might be like "they fight a lot" and i would say, yes they do, but siblings usually fight a lot. doesn't mean they don't love each other!  
> -each group of roommates being a little family that makes a big family once hyunchan gets together warms me so i will not be taking any criticism on that front
> 
> thank you so much for reading!


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